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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22740241">Dragonbloods of Ninjago</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/SalineCoelacanth/pseuds/SalineCoelacanth'>SalineCoelacanth</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Lego Ninjago</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe, Blood and Violence, F/F, M/M, dragonblood au</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-02-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-04-28 19:00:28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>9</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>28,736</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22740241</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/SalineCoelacanth/pseuds/SalineCoelacanth</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>In the land of Ninjago exists a mythical creature- the dragonblood. Although they appear to be humans, dragonbloods hold elemental powers along with the powerful and dangerous ability to transform into a rampaging dragon. The world has grown to fear these creatures, leading to the rise of Garmadon and his forces who have sworn to protect the world from these dragonbloods, but are they truly something to be feared?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Cole/Jay Walker, Kai/Zane (Ninjago), Nya/P.I.X.A.L. (Ninjago)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>184</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Earth</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Cole spends his whole life distant from his father, never knowing the reason why his father was so protective and distant</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Just a heads up, at the time I wrote this, Cole's mom's name has not been revealed, so I decided to give her the name Ruby. If her name gets revealed later on and you wonder why her name here isn't the same, that's why.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>    Ninjago City was a busy place. It was the main capital of Ninjago after all. There were many villages that surrounded the city, along with forests and unexplored territory, but Ninjago City was the most important city of Ninjago. The city was most well known for the dragon hunters. They were trained at the Academy in the city to defend Ninjago from the dreaded dragonbloods that often caused havoc throughout the land. However, there were other things in Ninjago City that people would come to see. Most notably was all the performers who lived in the city and travelled around, bringing entertainment for the people of Ninjago to distract from the fear of the dragonbloods attacking.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>The sun was bright, the citizens of Ninjago City were all happy as there hadn’t been any dragonblood attacks recently. It had seemed that ever since Garmadon created his army to defend against the dragonbloods, the city had been even safer than ever. A young boy excitedly ran inside his house, his mother following behind. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Dad! Dad!” the boy cheered excitedly. “Dad, guess what!?”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“What is it, Cole?” the boy’s father asked.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Today, me and Mom, we went to the mountain and I fell and scraped my knee! Look at it!” Cole excitedly pointed at the scrape on his knee, causing his father to flinch back.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Cole, calm down,” his mother said as she walked into the room.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Ruby, how could you let our son hurt himself like this?” the father asked.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Oh, Lou, you worry too much,” Ruby said, messing up her son’s hair. “You can’t prevent him from getting hurt every once in a while. Now c’mon, Cole, let’s go get your knee cleaned up.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“But I’m not done talking about our adventure!” Cole argued.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“You can tell me about it when you clean up,” Lou assured. “We don’t want you getting an infection.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Oh, alright…” Cole agreed reluctantly. He followed his mom into the bathroom where she pulled out some basic medical supplies.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“This may sting a bit,” Ruby warned as she got ready to clean the scratch.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“I’m not scared of pain!” Cole assured.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Alright, tough guy,” Ruby teased. She gently put the rag on the scratch.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“OW!” Cole yelled. “That hurts!” </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“I warned you,” Ruby stated. “Now sit still so I can finish cleaning it.” After she finished, she grabbed a bandage and put it over the scratch. “There, good as new.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Cole jumped up and ran out of the bathroom, Ruby following behind him.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Dad!” he yelled, running up and hugging his dad.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Woah, calm down there, Cole,” Lou said, rubbing his son’s head.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Can I tell you about my adventure now?” Cole asked.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Aw, sorry, Cole, but I have to leave,” Lou apologized. “The guys called me and I have to go on a performance for the next couple of days.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Aww, but you always leave to go perform,” Cole whined.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Don’t worry, Cole,” Lou assured, “someday you’ll be a performer just like me, and then we can travel together.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“I don’t want to be a performer,” Cole objected, “I wanna be an explorer! I wanna discover new territory!”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Lou sighed. “I know, but I think you’d like being a performer.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Lou, can we talk for a bit?” Ruby asked. The two walked into another room. Cole hid behind the corner, listening in on his parents’ conversation.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“When are you going to stop pressuring him to be a performer?” Ruby asked. “You know that isn’t what he wants.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“But it’s safe,” Lou explained. “Who knows what kind of trouble he would get into if he started exploring.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“It’s what he wants,” Ruby argued, “and you should be more supportive of him.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“I’m trying to protect him, Ruby!” Lou argued.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“From what?”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“You know what.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Lou, if you really wanted to protect him, you would let me tell him.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“No, the less he knows the better.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Cole decided to stop listening before one of his parents caught him. He went to his room and sat on his bed, letting out a sigh. He looked out his window into the backyard. They didn’t really own a lot of playground equipment. Instead, their backyard was filled with decorations like a small fountain and some benches. It looked more like a public park than a playground. That’s why Cole always enjoyed going out to the mountain with his mother. He was allowed to be rough and have fun. And of course he loved his father, but he was more strict than his mother was. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Cole heard his door opened and saw his mother walk in.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Hey, Cole,” she greeted.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Did Dad leave again?” Cole asked.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Ruby sighed. “Yeah. He should be back in a couple of days.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Why does he have to leave all the time?” Cole pouted. “He never spends any time with us.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Ruby sat down next to her son and rubbed his head. “Cole, your father loves you. You know that, right?”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Cole shrugged. “He says he does, but then I feel like he just leaves all the time instead of ever actually spending time with me.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Cole, sweetie, your father is a busy man,” Ruby explained. “I know it may not seem like it, but being a performer is a very busy job. It’s an important one too.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“You’re not gonna try to make me be a performer too, are you?” Cole asked.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Of course not,” Ruby assured. “I know it’s what your father wants, but I know it isn’t what you want.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Cole paused for a bit and then looked up at his mother. “Hey, Mom?”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Yeah?”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Why doesn’t Dad want me to be an explorer?”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Ruby flinched a bit, hesitant to answer. “Well, it's… complicated, Cole,” she explained. “There are a lot of things about this world that I just can’t tell you. The world can be very cruel, and your father is scared that the world will hurt you.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“I’m strong,” Cole assured, “I won’t let anyone hurt me!”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Ruby let out a soft chuckle. “I know, Cole, but sometimes, you have no control on whether you get hurt or not.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Dad doesn’t need to be worried about me,” Cole reassured. “Maybe if he saw how far I threw that rock today, he wouldn’t be as worried about me.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Ruby laughed again. “Maybe.” She stood up. “How about we go get something to eat?”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Oo! Can we get cake?” Cole asked.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Something for dinner, Cole,” Ruby clarified.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“You can have cake for dinner,” Cole argued.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>______________________________________________</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Years had passed since that conversation Cole had with his mother. Cole started going to the mountain by himself sometimes along with his trips he took with his mother. His father still disapproved of his constant hikes, but his mother always had his back. Cole and his father started getting into more arguments as Cole got older, but his mother was always there to keep them all together. One time, Cole got into a big argument with his father. He ended up storming off to his room, slamming the door behind him.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Cole jumped onto his bed, yelling into his pillow. He raised his head off of his pillow.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“I am so tired of it!” he yelled. “He thinks he knows everything! He thinks he knows what’s best for me when he hasn’t even been in my life long enough to even know who I am!”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Cole was interrupted by a gentle knock on his door.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Cole, it’s your mother,” Ruby informed.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Come in,” Cole said.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Ruby walked in and saw her son sitting on his bed, his arms tucked into the pocket of his sweatshirt. Ruby sighed before sitting next to him, wrapping her arms around him.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“I know it’s hard, Cole,” Ruby reassured. “Your father can be really difficult.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“More like impossible,” Cole mumbled.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“I know it may not seem like it, but your father loves you more than anything in this world.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“If he loves me so much, how come he never wants anything to do with me?”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Cole, that isn’t true,” Ruby said, her voice stern.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“He’s never home, Mom!” Cole argued, “He’d rather be out working than at home with his family! I just get the feeling he hates me sometimes…”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Ruby wrapped her son in a full hug. “He does not hate you,” she reassured. “Cole, you are the most wonderful, amazing person in the world.” She gave Cole a kiss on the forehead. “Don’t you ever forget that.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Cole sighed. “I won’t…” he promised.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Ruby released Cole and stood up. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Ruby!” Lou called from the other room, “You have a letter!”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Ruby sighed. “I better go. You gonna be ok?” she asked.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Yeah,” Cole assured, “I feel better now.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Ruby smiled before leaving the room. She walked downstairs where Lou was holding the letter.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“I don’t recognize the sender,” Lou stated.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Oh, Lou, I know a lot of people you don’t know about,” Ruby teased grabbing the letter.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Alright, well, if you need me, I’ll be in the kitchen starting dinner.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Alright.” Ruby looked at the envelope. “Weird, I don’t recognize this name either.” She opened up the letter and read it. “Oh no…” she said quietly. She looked around, panic in her eyes. She took another look at the letter before clenching it in a fist and shoving it into her jacket.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Lou, I gotta go, I’ll be back,” she called.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Alright,” Lou called back.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Ruby opened the front door before looking back. She sighed. “I’m sorry,” she whispered before leaving quietly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>______________________________________________</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Ruby reread the letter once more. “Meet at the Dragon’s Plain…” she reread before looking up. “This is it. Where are they?”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>She heard rustling and turned around quickly to see multiple people walk out of the bushes, a woman with dark hair leading them. She held a katana in her hand, the other people holding various other weapons.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Aw, if it isn’t Ruby,” the woman greeted. “Thought you would be able to hide forever, huh?”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“What do you want, Scarlett?” Ruby demanded.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Oh, I think it’s obvious what we want,” Scarlett responded, turning to the others. “Garmadon has ordered us to kill </span>
  <em>
    <span>all </span>
  </em>
  <span>dragonbloods. We’ve been on quite a roll lately, haven’t we?”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>The other soldiers laughed.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Garmadon said next one on the list was the earth dragonblood,” Scarlett continued, “and I have to admit, Ruby, you’ve been hard to find.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“I haven’t caused any problems for anyone,” Ruby argued. “You have no reason to kill me.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Just because you haven’t caused any problems doesn’t mean you won’t cause any,” Scarlett retaliated.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“C’mon, boss, she’ll be easy to take down. She’s out of practice,” one of the grunts spoke.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Out of practice?” Ruby questioned. “I’m not too sure about that.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>She stomped her foot on the ground, causing the earth to shake. Multiple soldiers lost their footing and fell over. Ruby continued to concentrate her power, creating a large rock from the ground, sending multiple soldiers flying back.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Don’t just stand there, get her!” Scarlett ordered.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>The remaining soldiers ran towards Ruby with their weapons. Ruby managed to dodge their attacks and beat them back with multiple rocks she would launch at them. One by one, each soldier fell. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Wow, you guys are almost a challenge,” Ruby taunted, taking off her jacket and tying it around her waist.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“You’re all useless!” Scarlett yelled. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She ran at Ruby with her sword, swinging it rapidly. Ruby blocked each swing with a wall of earth, each wall getting destroyed by Scarlett’s blade. Eventually, Scarlett landed a blow, cutting into Ruby’s arm. Ruby winced at the pain, but kept calm. She pushed Scarlett back with a rock she shot up out of the ground. She looked at the cut on her arm. Blood trickled from it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m curious, Ruby,” Scarlett said, standing back up, “you haven’t transformed. Why is that?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ruby didn’t answer. Instead, she shot another rock at Scarlett, but she dodged easily.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You didn’t pass your powers on, did you?” Scarlett questioned. “Leaving you with only your basic elemental powers?” She kicked Ruby down, sending her sliding away. Ruby sat up, looking back at Scarlett as she approached. “How stupid could you be? Or, maybe you’re just sick and cruel, willingly making your child a monster.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“RAGH!” Ruby yelled, shooting a giant piece of rock at Scarlett, knocking her over. Ruby got up and stood over the soldier. “He is not a monster! He is my SON!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So, you </span>
  <em>
    <span>do </span>
  </em>
  <span>have a child,” Scarlett confirmed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ruby froze, realizing what she had done. Scarlett took this as an opportunity to catch Ruby off guard. She quickly got up and kicked Ruby’s legs, knocking her over.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You know, maybe you should’ve done what Libber did,” Scarlett taunted. “She was smart. She got rid of her baby. But you kept yours for some reason.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ruby stared up at Scarlett, her face filled with rage.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You can’t rely on your anger, Ruby,” Scarlett continued, “Your dragon days are over, along with every other day.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Scarlett swung her sword one more time at Ruby, finishing her mission.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>______________________________________________</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Dad, I’m going out for a bit,” Cole said, putting on his sweatshirt as he entered the room. Lou turned to his son, his face full of worry. “Dad? What’s wrong?”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Cole, I-” Lou’s voice was shaky, “I… I don’t know how to tell you this, but… Your mother is dead…”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Cole’s face turned to complete shock. “What do you mean?” he asked.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Cole, her body was found last night,” Lou explained, “the police don’t know what happened.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Cole stepped back, shaking his head. “No, no no no!” he yelled. Tears started to form in his eyes.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Lou put his hand on his son’s shoulder. “I’m sorry Cole. She’s gone…”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Cole sat down on the sofa, covering his face with his hands, tears running down his cheeks. Lou attempted to comfort his son, but Cole smacked his hand away.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Don’t touch me!” Cole yelled. He got up and ran to his room.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Cole!” Lou called after his son, but he wouldn’t listen. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Cole slammed his door shut. He sat on his bed and wrapped his arms around himself. “Mom…” he mumbled through the tears. “Please… please don’t be gone! I need you!” He turned to look outside his window. He wiped the tears off of his face, but more kept coming to replace the old ones. The sheets on his bed became dappled with spots where his tears fell. He laid down on his bed and curled up, trying to stop crying.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Cole refused to leave his room for the rest of the day. Lou didn’t know whether or not to bother his son, but he decided to just leave him be. Cole eventually fell asleep and woke up the next day. He left his room to find food since he hadn’t eaten since yesterday morning.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>He noticed a note on the fridge as he entered the kitchen.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Cole, I left to go and do some extra performances, I should be back in about a week,” Cole read the note. “Great.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>He opened the fridge and grabbed a leftover sandwich from a couple days ago. It was kinda stale, but Cole didn’t mind much. He looked at a picture on the wall. It was a picture of him as a kid along with his parents. He looked at his mother’s smile. </span>
  <em>
    <span>I’ll never see her smile again… </span>
  </em>
  <span>Cole realized. He went back to his room, not wanting to look at the picture anymore. He sat in his room and pulled out a pair of headphones. He put them on and started listening to some music to clear his head. </span>
  <em>
    <span>She’s really gone… </span>
  </em>
  <span>He still didn’t want to believe it. His mother was always there for him when he needed her, but now she was gone. And the worst part was, he didn’t even know how she died. No one did. Cole sighed and turned his music up, trying to drown out his sad thoughts.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>This had become his routine for the weeks ahead. It had been about three weeks and his father was still gone. Cole eventually had to go out and buy some groceries with his own money. He got back, carrying four bags completely full of groceries. As he walked inside, he saw his dad.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Oh, Cole, there you are,” Lou said as his son walked inside. “I’m sorry I was gone for so long, I-”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Cole completely ignored his father. He angrily put the bags in the kitchen and went to his room. He sat on his bed and pulled out his headphones, but was interrupted by a knock on his door.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Cole?” Lou said as he opened the door.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“What?” Cole asked angrily.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“How are you feeling?” Lou asked.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Cole rolled his eyes. “How do you think?”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Hey, do not have an attitude with me, young man,” Lou scolded.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Oh, I’m sorry,” Cole apologized insincerely. “My mom died and my dad decided to leave for multiple weeks leaving his son on his own.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“I know you’re still upset about your mother, so am I,” Lou argued, “but that’s no reason to raise your voice at me.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“So what, are you going to try and be there for me?” Cole questioned. “Because you’ve done SUCH a good job of that in the past.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Now, listen here, Cole.” </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“No, why don’t you listen for once,” Cole interrupted. “All you do is pressure me all the time and then you leave. It’s an endless cycle of me not being good enough for you, and you leaving without even trying to get to know me.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Cole, that’s not true,” Lou argued.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Oh really? All you do is leave so you don’t have to spend time with your own son! You always find excuses to avoid spending time with me!”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Well, maybe if I had a son who cared, then I would want to spend time with him!” Lou yelled. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>The whole room went silent, Cole staring blankly at his father.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Cole, I’m sorry, I didn’t-” Lou tried to reach his hand out to comfort his son, but Cole moved out of the way. He stormed out of the room. “Cole, where do you think you’re going?”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“I don’t know and I don’t care!” Cole yelled as he headed for the front door. “But I’d rather be anywhere else than somewhere where I’m not cared about!” He slammed the front door, stomping away.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Cole, wait!” Lou called out.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Cole started walking quicker before going into a full on sprint. Once he was alone, he let himself start to cry. Tears flew off of his face as he ran through the forest by the house. He didn’t look where he was going. He didn’t care where he was going. He just didn’t want to be at home. After running for what felt like hours, Cole stopped. He rested, leaning against a sign. He looked around and noticed he was in a familiar area. He was at the mountain. The place he would always go with his mother. He looked up at the mountain, it’s peak high in the sky. Cole started breathing heavier and heavier. He felt his anger building up, the sight of the mountain bringing out all of his negative emotions. He felt his anger begin to consume him, as he fell to the ground. He let out a loud yell that turned into a roar. His clothes began to tear as he became surrounded in dust. A massive dust cloud surrounded him, growing bigger and bigger along with Cole until he blasted the cloud away, revealing his dragon form.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> He turned his head towards the mountain. He opened his wings and flew up to the peak. He let out a loud roar before charging a blast. He created a massive boulder and shot it at the mountain, destroying its peak. He landed on top of it, the ground flattening as he dug his claws into the rocky earth of the mountain. He let out another massive roar before turning his attention to the forest. He flew up again and launched another rock into the forest, knocking over all the trees in its path. He clawed at another tree, snapping it in half. He continued to destroy the forest around him until he heard footsteps. He turned to see an old man approaching him. He glared at the man.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Something seems to have angered you, hasn’t it?” The old man spoke.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cole ignored the man’s words. He leaned his head towards the old man and let out a breath through his nose, dust flying past the man.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t worry, I won’t hurt you,” The old man assured. He pulled out a flute.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cole tilted his head, confused by the old man. The old man began playing the flute. Cole blinked, his eyes wide from hearing the flute. He closed his eyes and gently sat down. His body became surrounded with dust once more until he shrunk back down to human size, transforming back to normal.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cole sat on the ground, his clothes ripped up, his sweatshirt completely ripped off, revealing a tank top underneath. He slowly blinked his eyes open. “Wh-what happened?” He asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The old man stopped playing the flute and put it away. “That was your first time transforming, I assume.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Transforming?” Cole questioned, “What are you talking about? Why did I-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shh,” The old man directed, “I will explain everything, but first, I should introduce myself. My name is Master Wu. And you are the earth dragonblood.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“WHAT!?” Cole yelled, “But I- How? There’s no way!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How else would you explain turning into a dragon?” Wu questioned.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cole took a deep breath. “I’m a… a dragonblood?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Wu nodded.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This is terrible! I-I’m a monster!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You are only a monster if you believe you are a monster,” Wu stated.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The world may believe dragonbloods are nothing but destructive beasts, but they do not know the true potential of the dragonbloods,” Wu turned to Cole. “If you are willing to learn, I can teach you how to control your powers. They can be used to help the world rather than hurt.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Help the world?” Cole looked down at his hands. He stood up, but stumbled a bit.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Careful,” Wu advised, “a dragonblood transformation is always very draining afterwards.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cole regained his balance. “So, if I can learn to control these powers, I can use them to help people?” he asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Wu nodded. “But only if you are willing to try.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cole looked around at all the destruction he caused. He looked back into the forest, thinking about his home.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If you agree to train with me, you will have to come with me back to my monastery,” Wu informed. “But you may never be able to return home.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cole clenched his fists. “I don’t have a home anymore…” he turned to Wu. “I’ll do it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I am glad to hear that,” Wu said. “I have been looking for pupils to train, but dragonbloods have been hard to find after my brother started hunting them.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Brother?” Cole questioned, “You mean Garmadon is your brother?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Wu nodded. “We have… different outlooks on dragonbloods. He believes they should all be destroyed, but I believe they should train to be able to protect others.” The two were quiet for a moment. “Come now,” Wu broke the silence, “we must head to my monastery.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cole nodded, following his new master.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>______________________________________________</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>They arrived at the monastery.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“You will be the only person training here,” Wu explained, “for now, at least.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“You mean there’s other dragonbloods who are alive?” Cole asked.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“There will always be dragonbloods,” Wu explained. “Even when one dies without children to pass their powers on to, their powers are given to someone worthy. There are plenty of dragonbloods out there. We just need to find them.” Wu turned to his new student. “We better get you some new clothes to wear.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Cole looked down at his ripped clothes. “You have anything?”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Why yes, I do,” Wu said. He generated a glowing ball in his hand and shot it at Cole. Cole braced for impact, but to his surprise, he wasn’t hurt. He watched as his ripped clothes turned into a black, sleeveless outfit with an earth pattern on it.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Woah, nice,” Cole commented.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“These clothes have magic properties, so they won’t be destroyed if you transform again,” Wu explained. “Now, I’m sure you’ve had a long day. Why don’t you rest, take some time to learn about your new surroundings.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Cole nodded. “That sounds nice,” he said. Wu walked inside the monastery, but Cole stayed outside for a bit. He looked up at the sky, smiling. “I’m gonna make you proud, Mom.” Cole turned back, following Wu inside.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Ice</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>A young nindroid named Zane learns about the beautiful things in the world, along with the terrible things.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>    “And just one more thing here, and I think it’s finished!” the scientist said as he finished up his work. He was creating a nindroid, a type of robot. He pushed a button and closed the panel located on the nindroid’s chest.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>The nindroid opened his icy blue eyes. He blinked a couple times, looking around at his surroundings. He turned to his creator.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Hello, my name is Zane,” the nindroid greeted.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>The scientist chuckled. “Yes, I know, I built you,” he said. “My name is Dr. Julien, but if you’d like, you can call me your father.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Zane smiled. “Father,” he repeated. “Yes, that makes sense. You are my father.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Dr. Julien smiled, knowing his creation was a success. Zane began to look around again, this time wandering a bit. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“This place,” he said, “is this my home?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Yes,” Dr. Julien answered, “this is your home. If you’d like, I can show you outside.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Zane nodded. “Yes, I’d like that.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Dr. Julien led Zane upstairs where there was a large door leading outside. He opened the door, a squeaky noise came as it opened. Zane stepped outside into the snowy forest. Snow was currently falling gently from the sky. Zane watched in awe. A snowflake landed on his nose, but instead of melting, it sat on Zane's synthetic skin. Zane smiled.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“What is this?” Zane asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“This is snow,” Dr. Julien explained. “When the weather gets cold, it snows a lot in this forest. However, it isn’t always snowy here.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“What’s it like when it isn’t snowing?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Well, you sure are curious,” Dr. Julien said. “You’ll see soon enough. For now, we should head back inside.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Zane took one last look at the snow before following his father back inside. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“I like the snow,” Zane commented as he walked down the steps.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Yes, you seemed quite interested in it,” Dr. Julien let out a little laugh.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>The two of them reached the bottom of the stairs. Zane stood in the middle of the room while Dr. Julien took a seat.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“There’s so much I can’t wait to teach you,” he smiled at his son.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“There’s so much I can’t wait to learn,” Zane smiled back.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Dr. Julien laughed again. “I love you, son.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“I love you too, father.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>______________________________________________</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>For many years, Dr. Julien lived alone with his son in the forest. His secret laboratory was hidden away from society as he disliked how violent people have gotten due to the dragonbloods. For so many years, Dr. Julien and Zane lived happily. But Zane soon began to get lonely. He would often look sad and sit around, not having the enthusiasm that he used to.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Son, what’s wrong?” Dr. Julien asked, “I’ve noticed you’ve seemed distant lately.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“I don’t know,” Zane sighed, “I guess I’m just a little lonely.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Lonely?” Dr. Julien questioned.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Not that I don’t like your company,” Zane corrected himself. “I enjoy learning and experiencing activities with you, but I guess I just wish I had someone else to interact with.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“I see,” Dr. Julien nodded. “You need someone more your age to spend time with.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Zane gave his father a confused look. “What do you mean?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Well most kids have other kids to play with,” Dr. Julien explained, “and other people have siblings to spend time with.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Siblings?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Like a brother or a sister.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Zane blinked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Like if I made another nindroid, they would be your sibling.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Zane’s eyes went wide. “You can make another nindroid?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Well, I’m not too sure about that,” Dr. Julien said. “It took a lot of supplies to build you, and I’m not sure I would have enough to build another one.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Father, please?” Zane pleaded. “I want a sibling, I want to experience the beauty of life with others!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“I’d probably have to reuse your blueprints,” Dr. Julien thought, “but, if that’s what you really want.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Zane nodded excitedly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Dr. Julien chuckled. “Alright, I guess I’d better get started.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Zane helped his father on his new project. Dr. Julien did the best he could with what he had, which wasn’t much. Zane had even snuck out at night on occasion to search for some scrap metal in order to build his brother. He was so excited to have a brother that he would constantly ask his father how progress was. Slowly, the new nindroid began to take shape. When it came to the actual programming, Dr. Julien struggled a bit. It had been so long since he had programmed Zane, so it took him longer, but he managed to get it right. Finally, the day had come where he was finished.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Zane watched with excited eyes as his father turned on the new nindroid. The nindroid opened his eyes, revealing them to be completely yellow. He looked around, much like Zane did when he was first turned on. He turned to Dr. Julien.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Hello, my name is Zane,” he greeted.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Oh, well that won’t do,” Dr. Julien said. “You can’t both be Zane…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>The nindroid blinked at Dr. Julien, tilting his head slightly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“I’ve got it! We can call you Echo Zane, or just Echo for short,” Dr. Julien decided.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Echo smiled. “Hello, my name is Echo,” he greeted again.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Dr. Julien laughed. “Hello, Echo, I’m your father, and this is your older brother, Zane.” He gestured towards Zane.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Echo turned to Zane. “Hello, my name is Echo,” he said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Zane smiled, “Yes, and my name is Zane.” He walked up and hugged his brother. But then, Echo’s arm fell off. “Oops,” Zane replied, releasing his brother from the hug.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“I can fix it,” Dr. Julien assured.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Zane and Echo both lived with Dr. Julien for many years. Dr. Julien would teach Echo the same things he taught Zane, Zane assisting this time. Echo always seemed to be a bundle of joy, even more than Zane at some points. He always managed to have a smile on his face.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Zane greatly appreciated his little brother. He would always look out for him and spend time with him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>One night, the two brothers sat outside. There was a gentle breeze as the fall leaves blew in the wind. Zane and Echo looked at the starry sky.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“What else do you think is out there?” Echo asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“I am unsure,” Zane admitted. “I have never left the forest. Father won’t allow it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“I know,” Echo sighed. “But I’d like to know what else there is in this world. I want to explore, Zane. I want to discover more! I already know everything about this forest. I want more.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“We can’t leave,” Zane said. “Especially with father’s sickness. He can barely get out of bed. He needs us to take care of him.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Echo looked away. “I know,” he said. “He’s gonna get better, right?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Zane was quiet for a moment. He turned to Echo and smiled. “I’m sure he’ll be fine.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Echo nodded. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“We’d better get back inside,” Zane said, standing up. “It’s late.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Yeah,” Echo replied, standing up carefully so he didn’t break off a limb. Zane would often try to help Echo stand up, but Echo eventually got annoyed with him constantly trying to help him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Zane and Echo quietly opened the door, trying not to make it squeak. They walked down the stairs, careful not to wake up their father. Zane and Echo walked over to their resting stations, powering off for the night.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>It was morning and light filtered into the room. Zane’s eyes opened as he powered on. He stepped out of his resting station, yawning. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Good morning, father,” he greeted as he sleepily rubbed his eyes. “Father?” He noticed Dr. Julien was still in bed. He looked very weak. Zane walked over to him to check on him. He didn’t see him breathing. “Father?” Zane asked again, more panicked this time. He checked for a pulse, but couldn’t find one. Zane gasped, stepping back, tears forming in his eyes.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Good morning everyone,” Echo yawned. “How is- Zane?” Echo walked up to his brother, concerned. He looked at the distraught look on his face and turned his head towards his father. He let out a soft gasp. “Father? Is he…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Zane nodded slowly. “Yes, Echo… he’s…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>The two nindroids stood quietly, mourning their father. Neither of them were able to move for days, unable to decide what to do without their father. One day, Echo finally took a step, walking away. Zane turned his head towards him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Echo?” he questioned, “Where are you going?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“I’m leaving,” Echo answered, heading towards the stairs. “I’m not staying put anymore.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Zane followed his brother up the stairs. Echo pushed the door open, revealing snow falling from the sky. The two of them stood in the doorway for a while, just staring at the snow until finally Echo started walking.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Echo, we don’t have anywhere else to go,” Zane tried to stop him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Zane, I can’t stay trapped in this forest anymore,” Echo argued. “I’m leaving. Are you coming with me?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“But Echo, what about the dragonbloods?” Zane asked. “Father warned us about them.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“How do we know dragonbloods actually exist?” Echo questioned. “We’ve never seen them.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>The two nindroids looked at each other for a while before Echo turned around, walking away. Zane stood still for a moment before running after his brother.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Echo, wait!” he called. “I’m coming with you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Echo smiled. “I knew you’d come around.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>The two nindroid brothers wandered for days. Days turned into weeks as they traveled through snowstorms to find what else was out there. The weather was harsh, but they were able to handle it better than normal people. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>As they were walking, Echo tripped over a rock, unable to see it due to the snow. His leg fell off as he fell.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Echo,” Zane said, “let me help you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“I can do it,” Echo assured as he struggled to get back up. “Just hand me my leg.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Zane nodded as he picked up his brother’s leg from the snow.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Oh my, what happened?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>The nindroids looked up at a woman who had come across the two of them.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“It’s not a big deal,” Echo assured, “this happens all the time.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“You’re a nindroid…” the woman realized.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Actually, we’re both nindroids,” Zane corrected. “My name is Zane and this is my little brother, Echo.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Where do you two live?” the woman asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Nowhere…” Zane responded. “We lived with our father before he passed away. But now, we have nowhere to go.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Oh dear,” the woman replied, “you two should come with me immediately. I’m from a nearby village and we’d be happy to take you in.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Zane and Echo looked at each other and then back at the woman.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Thank you,” Zane responded.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“It’s nothing,” the woman assured. “Now come on, it’s cold out.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Echo stuck his leg back on and stood up, but it instantly fell off again.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Here,” Zane helped Echo walk. Echo held his leg in his hand while his brother helped him to the village. The woman led the two of them into her house. She gave the both of them blankets even though they tried to assure her they were fine.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“One of my friends is a mechanic,” the woman said. “I’ll get him to come look at your leg.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Thank you for all of this,” Zane said again. “You don’t mind if we stay here, do you?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“You can stay in this village for as long as you need,” she assured. “We’ll take care of you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>So, the nindroid brothers stayed in that village for many years. It was peaceful. They went about their daily lives, helping out each of the villagers. Echo even started falling apart less, and learned how to repair himself in emergencies. Zane enjoyed the village life, though something about him had felt different. He couldn’t explain it and the other villagers said he was exactly the same, but Zane felt different to himself. Echo had told him he was acting crazy, so Zane just pretended to ignore his feelings. Zane was overhearing some of the gossip in the village.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Yeah, they never caught him,” a man said. “He just disappeared.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Zane watched them talk, standing to the side. It always took a long time for news to spread to smaller villages like this, but it always ended up spreading one way or another.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“What are they talking about?” Echo asked, walking up to his brother.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Apparently there was a dragon attack,” Zane explained.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Near here?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“No, somewhere near the city,” Zane replied. “In the forest. They said the dragon managed to level an entire mountain.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“I find that hard to believe,” Echo responded.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Zane shrugged. “You never know. After all, we’ve never seen a dragonblood before.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Echo laughed. “Ha, yeah.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>The two nindroids stood there happily, watching everyone around them. Zane never thought he'd be able to feel happy again after the death of his father, but with Echo and the villager’s help, he was able to move on. Suddenly, Zane heard something in the distance.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Zane? What’s wrong?” Echo asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“I hear something,” Zane replied. Before he could explain further, the villagers all went quiet. The sound of a vehicle began to grow louder and louder until finally, three large hovercrafts arrived in the village, landing roughly on the ground. The villagers looked panicked, unsure about their mysterious visitors. Two of the ships opened, soldiers exiting with weapons on their backs.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Zane, what’s going on?” Echo asked, fear in his voice.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“I don’t know,” Zane whispered.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>The third, middle ship opened up. A couple of soldiers exited and finally, a girl who looked about Zane’s physical age stepped out. She had long, pale hair and piercing yellow eyes covered in red face paint. She wore a dark uniform.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Why hello there,” she greeted insincerely. “My name is Harumi. I’m one of Garmadon’s generals. I’m sure you’ve heard of him.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“He’s the guy in charge of killing the dragonbloods,” a villager stated.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Good, you’re informed,” Harumi replied. “Now, do you know why we’re here?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“No,” another villager replied, confused.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Harumi let out a long laugh. “Here’s the thing,” she said after calming down. “Our sensors have picked up a dragonblood coming from this village. So, it looks like you’ve been keeping a dragonblood here without turning them in.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>The villagers all looked at each other nervously.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Uh, we’ve never had any dragonbloods here,” someone informed. “Maybe your tracker was off.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Harumi laughed again. “Wow, do you take me for an idiot? Our trackers are never wrong. Now, I’m gonna give you a moment to give up the dragonblood peacefully. Just surrender, and we’ll leave. Simple as that.”</span>
  
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>The village went quiet, nobody knowing what to do. Harumi looked around, looking at each of the villagers.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>She sighed. “Alright, you guys wanna do this the hard way, then.” She snapped her fingers and the soldiers all pulled out their weapons, some with katanas, others with some type of gun. The villagers all backed up in fear. “Go for it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>The soldiers all ran in, the villagers running in response.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Zane! What are they doing!?” Echo asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“I don’t know just run!” Zane ordered in a panic. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>The villagers all scattered as the soldiers chased them down. Multiple villagers were shot by nets, wrapping around them and trapping them. The soldiers would grab the trapped villagers in order to interrogate them. Zane was tackled by a soldier. He held his sword to his face.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Who’s the dragonblood?” The soldier asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“I don’t know!” Zane yelled. He somehow managed to push the soldier off of himself, knocking him onto the ground. He got up and continued running. He looked around at the villagers. He ran up and knocked the soldiers off of his friends, freeing them. “Everyone, run!” Zane ordered.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“AHH!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Zane quickly turned around. He saw a soldier cornering Echo, a sword in his hand.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“STAY AWAY FROM HIM!” Zane yelled. Suddenly, he felt his body fall to the ground. He dug his fingers into the ground as his whole body started to shake. The villagers and soldiers stared at him, scared and backing away. Harumi watched him, a smug look on her face. Zane’s body became surrounded in a cloud of ice, bursting away as he transformed into a dragon. He glared down at the soldier threatening his brother. He breathed a blast of ice at him, freezing him instantly. Echo shielded his face, but was unharmed by the attack. Zane quickly turned around, smacking the soldiers with his tail.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“What are you doing, get him!” Harumi ordered. But the soldiers just started to retreat. Zane continued rampaging, attacking every soldier he saw. Eventually, the soldiers managed to escape into their hovercrafts, one of them having to drag Harumi to get her to leave. She glared at Zane as the doors closed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Still angry, Zane glared down at the villagers. He began charging an icy blast, the villagers frozen in fear.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Zane!” Echo yelled.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Zane stopped charging his attack, turning his head towards Echo. Echo’s face was full of fear as he looked at his brother. Zane looked down at himself, realizing what he was doing. He quickly became surrounded by ice once more, changing back to normal. Zane stood in the middle of the village, staring at his hands, his clothes ripped up. The villagers all looked at Zane in fear. He looked up at Echo.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Zane…” Echo whispered.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Unable to say anything, Zane quickly ran away in the other direction.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Zane!” Echo called after his brother, but Zane didn’t stop running.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>______________________________________________</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Zane continued running, not caring about where he was going. He didn’t look back, he just kept going. He eventually got to a point where he had to rest. He leaned against a tree, breathing heavily despite the fact he didn’t need to breathe. Zane looked up at the sky, feeling himself start to cry. He wrapped his arms around himself as he began to sob.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Well, what do we have here?”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  
  <span>Zane jumped, turning to see a mysterious old man standing next to him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“I came here expecting to find a dragonblood, but instead I found a boy in pain,” the old man continued.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Zane shook his head. “I am a dragonblood…” he said, wiping his eyes. “Please, take me away before I hurt anyone.” Zane held out his arms for the old man to take.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“That won’t be necessary,” the old man assured. “I came to help you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Zane looked at him confused. “Help?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>The old man nodded. “Dragonbloods, as you probably know, are feared because people believe they’re dangerous. However, I believe their powers can be used for good.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“How can you be so sure?” Zane asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Well, I’m already training one,” the old man explained, “but I’m always open to training more students.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Zane continued looking at the man confused. He sighed. “You truly believe I can use my powers for good?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>The old man nodded.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Zane thought for a moment. “Then I’ll do it,” he decided.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“I’m happy to hear,” the old man replied. “My name is Master Wu. And you are?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Zane smiled. “My name is Zane.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Well, Zane,” Wu said, “we’d better head to my monastery so we can start training.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Zane nodded. “Lead the way.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>______________________________________________</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>When they arrived at the monastery, there was already someone outside practicing. He created a rock from the ground and was punching it. He turned towards the two of them.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Master Wu, you’re back!” he cheered.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Wu nodded. “And I brought another student for you to train with.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Zane looked at this other student nervously. The student held out his hand.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Hey, my name’s Cole,” he greeted, “earth dragonblood.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Zane stared down at Cole’s hand for a moment and looked back at Cole.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“My name is Zane,” he replied. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Uhh ok,” Cole said, awkwardly putting his hand down, “I’m guessing you’re not too great at interactions, huh?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“I guess not,” Zane agreed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Alright, Cole,” Wu said, “why don’t you show Zane around?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“You got it,” Cole said. “C’mon, Zane, I’ll show you around the monastery.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Zane smiled. “I think I’d like that.”</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Lightning</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Jay grew up his entire life wanting to build weapons for the Academy, but when he finally gets his chance, it doesn't turn out as he planned.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>    “Ooo! Ooo! What about a sword that’s also a flamethrower?” The young child was bouncing around ideas for weapons, coming up with outrageous ideas he thought were amazing. “Then, you could slice the dragon AND burn it!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“That’s a good idea, kiddo,” Ed replied, messing with his son’s hair, “but I’m not so sure how useful fire would be against a dragon.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“I thought there were different types of dragons?” the child argued. “An ice dragon would be no match for my flamethrower sword!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“You do have quite the imagination, Jay,” Edna let out a little laugh. “We’ll think about the flamethrower sword, ok?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Yes!” Jay replied, pumping his fist. “I’m sure the Academy would love all my ideas. Maybe even Garmadon himself would use one of my weapons!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“It’s possible,” Ed agreed, “but for now, leave the weapon building to me and your mother, ok?”</span>
  
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Oh, c’mon!” Jay argued. “I’m 10 now, I can build weapons! I’ve built gadgets before, when do I get to move to the next step?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Oh, Jay,” Edna said in a reassuring voice, “tiny gadgets are one thing, but building big weapons like we do is dangerous. We don’t want you getting hurt. You’ll just have to wait until you’re older.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“That’s what you keep saying!” Jay replied. “Dad, tell mom that I’m old enough to build weapons!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Ed looked over at Edna and then back at Jay. He let out a sigh. “Listen to your mother, Jay.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Fine,” Jay complained, “I’ll wait.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Speaking of the new weapons,” Edna said, turning to Ed, “has the Academy called you recently? Shouldn’t they be coming to check up on things soon?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“I think they said they were on their way,” Ed replied, “but you know how long it takes them to get to the Junkyard.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Yeah,” Edna sighed, “sometimes being so far away from the city can make things harder.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“The Academy is coming here!?” Jay asked excitedly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Oh, Jay, you should probably head inside,” Edna assured.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“What!?” Jay asked. “But I wanna see them look at the stuff you guys built! You always make me go inside when they come.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Well, Jay, the Academy can be a little harsh sometimes,” Edna explained. “They won't want to have to deal with a hyperactive child running around asking them a bunch of questions.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“I’ll behave!” Jay insisted. “Please?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Edna sighed. “Sorry, Jay, keeping our business with the Academy is important.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Dad!” Jay called over to Ed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Listen to your mother,” Ed repeated.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Jay gave out an annoyed sigh.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Oh, c’mon, Jay,” Edna said. “It’ll be ok. You can go play with Mr. Cuddlywump while you wait.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Oh… about that...” Jay replied.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Did you lose him again?” Edna asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“I’ve looked everywhere!” Jay said. “I don’t know where he is!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Alright, I’ll help you look for him,” Edna assured, leading Jay inside. “Ed, you keep an eye out for those Academy members.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Don’t you worry,” Ed assured, “I’ll let you know as soon as they get here.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>After a while, Edna managed to find Mr. Cuddlywump hiding under Jay’s bed. She left him alone in his room to go wait with Ed for the Academy to show up. Jay squeezed his stuffed animal tight in a hug. He climbed up onto his bed and looked out the window. He saw one of the high tech vehicles arrive at the entrance of the Junkyard. The Academy was so cool to Jay. He knew he’d never be able to join the Academy as a student because he didn’t think he was skilled enough as a fighter to fight off dragons. Besides, most students there were either nindroids or they started training at extremely young ages.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Despite all of that, Jay still wanted to do his best to help fight off the dreaded dragons that posed so much danger to Ninjago. Someday, he’d be able to actually build something for the Academy, a weapon that would be able to take out the dragons. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Jay continued to watch the Academy members inspect his parents’ newest invention. He was always astounded by how the Academy would turn these inventions built from scrap into more refined, high tech weapons. One time, his parents invented a type of ball with a net inside that could trap people, and the Academy developed it further to make it so it could shrink people down and trap them in the ball itself! Jay desperately wanted to invent something like that.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Eventually, Jay saw one of the Academy members shake his dad’s hand and they started to hook up the large vehicle his parents’ built to their own vehicle to haul it back to the Academy. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Jay noticed it was starting to get late. He saw his parents heading inside. Jay quickly climbed down from the window and scrambled off of his bed. He carefully put Mr. Cuddlywump on his bed before heading downstairs to meet with his parents. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Did you sell it?” Jay asked excitedly as he ran down the stairs.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Yep,” Ed replied. “They loved the idea.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Of course they would,” Jay said, “all of your inventions are amazing!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Ed let out a laugh. “Yep. And someday, you’ll get to show them your amazing inventions, too.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“I know I will,” Jay replied, “I'm going to be the greatest inventor in all of Ninjago!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>______________________________________________</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Jay was in his room working on some blueprints. He was finally at the age where his mother would let him help out on new weapons. He still wasn’t allowed to build stuff on his own due to Edna’s worries about him getting hurt, but Jay was out to prove her wrong. He had been working on an idea for months now in secret, making sure he got everything about it perfect. He knew not to start off too big, so he started simple. He thought about making a sword, but he knew he had to do something special with it, so he started trying to figure out how to build a sword with extreme heating properties that would make it easier to slice through a dragon’s hard scales. Not exactly a flamethrower sword, but a cool idea nonetheless.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“How am I gonna make this part work?” Jay thought out loud, chewing on his pencil. “I don’t want the handle to get superheated, just the blade…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Jay! Dinner’s done!” Edna called from the kitchen downstairs.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“In a minute!” Jay called back. He pushed his chair away from his desk and stood up, staring down at his design.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Jay!” Edna called again.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“I said in a minute!” Jay replied, slight annoyance in his tone.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Jay, if you don’t come down right now, your food will get cold!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Alright, I’m coming!” Jay took one last look at his drawing before rolling the paper up and putting it away.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>He made his way downstairs to the dining room where his father was already sitting down eating. Jay sat in his chair as Edna handed him his plate full of chicken and mashed potatoes. Jay quickly grabbed a spoonful of the mashed potatoes, stuffing it in his mouth before spitting it back into his spoon.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“AGH! HOT!” Jay yelled.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Careful, Jay,” Ed warned, “it’s hot.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“I see that now, dad,” Jay replied.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Ed let out a little chuckle, “I know, son, I’m just messing you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Jay made sure to blow on his food this time before putting it in his mouth. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Have you made any progress on that doohickey yet?” Edna asked. They always called their newest inventions ‘doohickies’ until they could come up with a better name.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Not today,” Ed sighed. “I just can’t seem to figure out what’s wrong with it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“I’ll take a look at it after dinner,” Edna offered. “I just hope we can get it working before the Academy comes tomorrow.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“What’ll they do if you don’t get it built in time?” Jay asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Not that much,” Ed assured. “Mostly just a small scolding and a warning to either figure it out or scrap it. Nothing your old mom and dad can’t handle.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“It’s just best to have the doohickey built on time,” Edna added.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Jay was quiet for a moment as he ate some of his chicken. “So, when can </span>
  <em>
    <span>I </span>
  </em>
  <span>start making my own doohickies?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Oh, Jay, you still have a long time before that,” Edna answered. “Just stick to helping out your mom and dad for now, ok?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Oh, don’t say that, Edna,” Ed stepped in. “I’m sure he could start now if he really wanted to.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“You really think so?” Jay asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Go for it, kiddo,” Ed replied.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“So I can finally start building stuff for the Academy?” Jay clarified.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Oh, no,” Ed replied. “The Academy is still a bit of a reach right now. But there’s no reason you can’t start practicing.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Jay tried to look over to his mom for support, but she just let out a sigh.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Jay, we understand your enthusiasm, but building for the Academy is really serious. These are our future protectors. We want to make sure they have the proper things to protect us from the dragonbloods.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“I AM serious!” Jay argued. “I know I could do it if you guys gave me the chance!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“We don’t doubt that for a second,” Ed assured, “but you can’t just run in without practice.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“I’ve had plenty of practice,” Jay replied. “I’ve known how to build things since I was like 3. How much more practice do I need?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Those were little things,” Edna replied. “Little toys to play with, not military weapons.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Jay slouched in his chair, crossing his arms.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Don’t worry about it, Jay,” Ed assured. “You’ll have your chance to shine someday.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Whatever,” Jay replied, getting up from the table. He left the dining room, heading upstairs to his room.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Jay,” Edna called after her son.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Let him go, Edna,” Ed said, “he needs some space.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Jay got into his room and closed his door. He pulled out his blueprints again and looked at them.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“I know I can do this…” he told himself, “I know I can.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>That night, Jay stayed up, waiting for his parents to fall asleep before he snuck outside of the house. He went over to the large shed they had for keeping inventions they were working on. Jay placed his blueprints on the desk in the shed, turning on a flashlight to use as a light source. Jay left the shed briefly to grab a bunch of scrap metal among other supplies. He carried the large pile of scrap back into the shed, placing it on the ground.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Alright, Jay,” he said, "let’s do this.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Jay grabbed a large piece of scrap metal and used a circular saw to cut it into the shape of a blade. He knew it wouldn’t be sharp enough to actually function as a sword, but all he needed to do was make a prototype.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>After he had the blade cut out, he set it aside to start working on the handle. He grabbed the blowtorch and put on a mask to shield his eyes and face. He started melting down the metal slightly so he could form it into a handle. He carefully molded the metal into its new shape. It was slightly disformed, but Jay just shrugged it off. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>After completing both the blade and handle, Jay got to work on putting the two pieces together. Although struggling a little bit, he managed to weld the two pieces together. After the metal cooled off, Jay lifted the makeshift sword and swung it around a couple of times.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Nice,” he commented. “It’s holding together!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Jay set the scrap sword back on the table and looked back at his blueprint. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Now, here comes the hard part…” </span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Jay placed his finger over the writing he had pointing to the handle as he read it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“I still haven’t found a good heat source…” Jay then turned towards the blowtorch as he got an idea. “That’s it!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Jay immediately got to work on making an extension to the handle of his sword. He took his time, making sure his measurements were perfect so nothing would go wrong. Once he finished the extension, he connected the blowtorch in just the right spot to where it would be able to heat up the blade without damaging the rest of the sword. He then realized he didn’t have a good place to put the gasoline canister, as it was connected to the blow torch by a long hose. Jay thought for a moment before quickly running back inside the house.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Jay was careful not to wake up his parents as he made his way up to his room. He walked over to his drawer and started pulling out all of his clothes.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“C’mon, I have to have an old belt in here somewhere!” He whispered angrily to himself. “Ah ha!” Jay found a belt at the bottom of the drawer. He grabbed it and made his way back to the shed, not bothering to pick up the clothes he left on his floor.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Back in the shed, Jay pulled out some trusty duct tape and wrapped it carefully around the canister. He also used some to put on the old belt he grabbed and carefully attached the canister to the belt. The design looked a little awkward, but Jay figured the Academy would be able to refine his design better. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>With the canister attached, Jay wrapped the belt around his waist and picked up the sword. He turned on the blow torch and waited for the blade to heat up before slicing it through an excess piece of scrap metal he had, cutting the metal in two pieces. Jay turned off the blowtorch and looked at the two pieces of metal in awe. He gave a small smile.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“I did it,” he said, “I actually did it!” </span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Not wanting to break his invention, he carefully set the sword down before taking his belt off. He hid the sword away in the corner and covered it with a tarp so his parents wouldn’t find it. He grabbed his blueprints and flashlight and headed back inside, sneaking back into his room.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>______________________________________________</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>The next day, Ed and Edna were standing outside the shed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“She’s still not working,” Ed informed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Edna sighed. “Well, we tried.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Yep. And that’s what matters.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Jay was sneaking his way through the junkyard. The Academy members were on their way, so his parents told him to stay inside like usual. But this time, Jay had his sword to show off. Luckily, his parents weren't able to find it, so he was still in the clear. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Jay poked his head out from behind a pile of scrap. He saw both his parents standing outside the shed. There was a large window in the back of the shed that Jay would be able to climb through. He quietly made his way over to the window, slowly opening it so he could climb through. He used a large stick to keep the window open so he would be able to get his sword through.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“I hope they won’t be too mad,” Jay overheard his mother say. “They got pretty upset last time.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Oh, don’t worry Edna,” Ed assured, “it’ll be ok.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Jay made his way to the corner where he put his sword. He pulled off the black tarp he covered it with. It was still sitting there in the same condition he left it in. He picked it up and made his way back over to the window. He was very careful when putting the sword through the window, not wanting to break it. He then climbed through the window himself and closed the window behind him. He picked up his sword again and snuck back over to the scrap pile he was hiding behind before.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Jay heard the sound of a vehicle arriving and looked up to see an Academy hovercraft arriving at the junkyard. Jay never understood how a hovercraft could be so loud despite the fact that they weren’t even on the ground, but he didn’t care right now.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>The hovercraft stopped and landed on the ground in front of Ed and Edna. A door opened up as a tall figure stepped out.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Well, if it isn’t the Walkers,” the figure greeted. “It’s been a while.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“It sure has, director,” Ed replied, shaking the director’s hand.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Did you come alone this time?” Edna asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Oh, no,” the director replied. “The others were a little busy today, but I did decide to bring one of our top students with us. I’m sure he would be a much better judge for any weapons than I would be. After all, he’s the one fighting.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“A student?” Jay whispered to himself, “This is great! Of course a student would be less harsh than a director!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Someone else stepped out of the hovercraft, presumably the student that the director was talking about. Jay was a little taken aback to see he was a nindroid. Part of his body was made out of a shiny, silver metal while other parts were a jet black color, his face being split in half between silver and black. The whites of his eyes were blacked out while his pupils were a vibrant red color. His hair was a darker black and also looked a bit messy. He was wearing the standard Academy uniform for the students, a black and purple sleeveless outfit with purple, knee high boots.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Alright, what’s this weapon I’m here to test out?” he asked. As he opened his mouth, Jay noticed the nindroid had razor sharp teeth. He was starting to feel a little frightened while staring at him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Ed, Edna, this is Cryptor,” the director introduced. “Like I said, he’s one of our top students.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“I AM the top student!” Cryptor argued, “The others don’t have anything on me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Well isn’t he quiet the confident one.” Ed joked, causing Cryptor to glare at him. “Well, sorry to say, but we didn’t end up building something successful on time.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Are you kidding me!?” Cryptor complained, “I could've been out there practicing fighting dragonbloods, but instead you dragged me out here for nothing!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“You don’t have anything?” the director asked, a slightly stern tone to his voice.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Sorry,” Ed apologized. “We just couldn’t figure out how to get this new invention of ours to work.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Cryptor let out an annoyed sigh. “C’mon director, we don’t have time to listen to these so-called inventors. We should head back to the Academy before it gets dark.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>The director let out a sigh. “I’m quite disappointed in you two,” he said. “This has been becoming more and more common with you. If you keep this up, the Academy might have to withdraw from our partnership.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“We won’t let you down,” Ed assured. “We’ll figure something out, don’t you worry.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“You better,” the director replied. “Alright, Cryptor, let’s head back.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Wait!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Cryptor and the director were interrupted from entering the hovercraft as they heard Jay call out. He came out of his hiding place, awkwardly carrying his sword over to them.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Jay?” Edna questioned, “What are you doing out here?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“I built something!” Jay announced, “I made an amazing weapon for the Academy.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Cryptor turned to the young inventor and let out a tiny chuckle. “I’ll be the judge of that.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Jay-” Edna tried to stop her son, but Ed placed his hand on her shoulder.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Hold on, Edna,” he said, "let's see what he built.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Cryptor crossed his arms as he looked at Jay’s distorted sword.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“I built this sword to use for fighting dragonbloods when they transform into dragons,” Jay explained as he handed the sword to Cryptor. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cryptor gave a perplexed look at the sword before looking back at Jay.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Before you go saying ‘it’s just a normal sword’, let me tell you that this isn’t just a normal sword,” Jay continued. “By using the blowtorch to heat up the blade, fighting a dragon will be a lot easier as you can cut into their hard scales a lot easier.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cryptor turned on the blowtorch, heating up the sword. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ooo! Let me go get some metal for you to test it out on!” Jay said. He quickly ran over to the scrap pile and started dragging a large piece of metal over. He placed it on the ground and Cryptor quickly sliced the metal with the sword. The metal sheet was cut in two, just like Jay planned it. Cryptor turned the blowtorch off and looked at Jay.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You know, I’ve never seen anything like this,” Cryptor said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jay’s eyes widened with awe as he looked at Cryptor.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ve never seen an invention this stupid before.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>In an instant, Jay’s expression shifted to shock, the happiness in his eyes quickly fading away.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wh-what?” Jay asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Do you even know how dragons work?” Cryptor asked, “Most dragons have some form of resistance to heat. I admit this would be useful on maybe an ice dragon, but that’s about it. All you did was stick a blowtorch to a shitty, flimsy looking sword and expect the Academy to actually use it. Did you even think any of this through?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, I…” Jay stumbled over his words, “I just figured, you know, since the Academy has so much advanced technology, maybe you’d be able to… fix it?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“‘Fix it’?” Cryptor replied. “So you admit that this was a mistake?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No, I meant-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Do you really think the Academy has the time and resources to invest in such a stupid idea?” Cryptor questioned, “When we have much more important matters at hand?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jay rubbed his arm, looking away from the nindroid.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey now,” Ed interrupted, “it wasn’t a terrible idea. Don’t give up on it so quickly.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Shut up,” Cryptor ordered. “You don’t need to defend your idiot son.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Our Jay is not an idiot!” Edna argued. “You have no right to call him that!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hmph,” Cryptor replied, “I guess you have a point. You two must be the idiots for raising him this way.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Cryptor, that’s enough!” the director scolded. “There’s no need to insult our top providers of new weapons!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Our top providers?” Cryptor questioned, “Sure, they’ve been around for a long time, but I’d argue Cyrus Borg is a far better inventor than these two. After all, he did provide me after all, your top student.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The director let out an annoyed sigh. “Cryptor, let’s just go back to the Academy. Besides, weren’t you worried about us getting back before dark?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Alright,” Cryptor replied. “Thanks for wasting my time.” he said, turning back to Jay. “Oh, and I guess you won’t be needing this,” Cryptor said, looking at the sword. Giving Jay no time to react, Cryptor quickly slammed the sword on his leg, breaking it in two. He threw the broken sword onto the ground before going into the hovercraft. The director paused for a moment.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Learn from this mistake,” he said. “Do not disappoint us again.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He walked into the hovercraft, closing the door and turning on the engine, leaving the junkyard to go back to the Academy.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jay dropped onto his knees, staring down at his broken sword. He picked up the broken blade, tears forming in his eyes as he looked at it and his hands becoming shaky.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, Jay,” Edna tried to comfort her son, “we’re so sorry.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“For what it’s worth, I thought it was a smart idea,” Ed added.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re just saying that because I’m your son!” Jay snapped, standing back up. “You don’t want to say it, but you know I’m an idiot!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Jay, don’t say that!” Edna said, “You are amazing.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No I’m not!” Jay yelled, “Stop telling me I am!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jay turned around and started running away from the junkyard.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Jay!” Ed and Edna called after him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jay kept running, not caring about where he was going. He just kept running. He noticed the sun beginning to go down, but he didn’t care. He felt as if he was running faster than he had ever ran before. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Eventually, Jay stopped running, slowing down before stumbling onto the ground. Tears continued spilling from his eyes as he sat alone in the middle of nowhere. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I tried…” Jay cried to himself, “I tried the best I could… But I wasn’t good enough… I’LL NEVER BE GOOD ENOUGH!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jay’s body became extremely shaky as he dug his fingers into the ground. Massive sparks of lightning formed around his body as storm clouds began to form in the sky. The massive ball of lightning surrounding Jay’s body quickly exploded away as Jay transformed into a dragon. Jay let out a massive roar, quickly shooting a massive blast of lightning at the stormy sky above. A loud CRASH of thunder boomed as a jolt of lightning struck from the sky. Jay turned his attention to the city in the distance. He watched with narrowed eyes as all the lights in the city quickly turned to black as the lightning storm spread more.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jay opened up his wings, getting ready to fly away until he heard something loud approach him. He turned his head to see a vehicle arriving towards him with two people in it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Jay!” Edna called. “Jay, where are you!?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“WAH! DRAGON!” Ed shouted, slamming the breaks on the car as he saw the massive blue dragon ahead of him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jay flew off of the ground slightly, moving closer to Ed and Edna. He landed back on the ground, digging his claws into the dirt underneath.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ed, get us out of here!” Edna said, fear in her voice.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m trying, Edna!” Ed assured.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jay glared down at the two of them and began charging a lightning blast. Ed and Edna began to scream in panic, frozen in fear and unable to move. Before Jay could launch his attack, he heard a gentle sound of a flute. Jay blinked, the lightning dissipating from his mouth. He turned his head, confused, Ed and Edna also looking over as a strange old man approached them, playing the flute that Jay heard.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jay seemed to calm down, sitting down and folding in his wings. He closed his eyes as he listened to the melody of the flute, his body becoming surrounded by gentle sparks as he shrunk back down to his normal size. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jay opened his eyes, blinking a couple of times as he sat on the ground, his clothes all ripped up.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Jay!?” Ed and Edna both asked, shocked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jay looked down at his hands, fear in his eyes. “What… what just happened to me?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You had your first transformation,” the mysterious old man explained. “First transformations can be more violent than normal ones.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Uhh, who are you?” Jay asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“My name is Master Wu,” he replied. “I came in search of you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Why?” Jay asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You are a dragonblood,” Wu explained.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“O-our son is a dragonblood!?” Edna asked. “How can this be?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wait, I don’t wanna be a dragonblood!” Jay said. “Dragonbloods are evil! I don’t want to be evil! Am I going to become evil! Oh my God, I almost killed my parents, I’M TURNING EVIL!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Calm down,” Master Wu assured, “being a dragonblood does not make you evil. It all depends on how you decide to use your power.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“B-but, you saw what happened just now! I had no control over myself!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You just need to learn how to control your power,” Wu assured.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wait, I can do that?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Wu nodded. “I already have two other students who are learning to control their dragonblood powers. If you come with me, I can teach you as well.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jay looked at Wu and then over at his parents.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Mom, dad, I-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We’ll be fine, kiddo,” Ed assured.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You mean you aren’t… scared of me? Even when I could’ve killed you?” Jay asked, standing up.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, Jay,” Edna said as she got out of the car, Ed following her. The two of them walked over to their son and wrapped their arms around him. “You are our son. We will always love you more than anything.” They released Jay from the hug.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, looks like we should cancel our agreement with the Academy, huh?” Ed said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Dad, that’s how you get all your money!” Jay argued. “And I thought your business with the Academy was too important to just give it up!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s true, our business with the Academy is important,” Ed replied, “but you’re more important than anything else. And I don’t want to build weapons for people who want to kill you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jay felt tears forming in his eyes again. He quickly gave his parents another big hug, holding them tight.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I love you guys,” Jay said, “I love you guys so much.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We love you too, Jay,” Edna replied.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The three of them held the hug for a while before letting go.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Alright, kiddo,” Ed said, “you’d better go with this Master Wu and learn how to be the best dragon you can be.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Thanks, dad,” Jay said before turning towards Master Wu.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Master Wu gave a small nod to Jay before the two of them started walking away, Jay turning back to wave goodbye to his parents one more time.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>______________________________________________</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was very late in the night when they arrived at the monastery. Jay let out a yawn.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So, this is where I’m gonna be living from now on?” he asked. “This place is really fancy.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Master Wu let out a little laugh, “I guess it is much fancier than a junkyard, isn’t it?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah yeah,” Jay said, “just, uh, don’t tell your other students about the whole junkyard thing. I don’t want them hating me for trying to build murder weapons against them.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You don’t have to worry about that,” Wu assured, “I’m sure they will be very welcoming of you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey, he’s coming back!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jay heard a mysterious voice coming from inside. Master Wu stopped and waited as two guys walked outside of the monastery.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Master, we were worried about you,” one of them in a white outfit said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hold up, who’s this?” the other person who was wearing black asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Zane, Cole, this is my newest student,” Master Wu introduced, “Jay, the dragonblood of lighting.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, is that what that power outage was?” Cole asked. “Huh. Who knew someone so short could cause such a big blackout.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m not that short!” Jay argued.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cole let out a laugh, Zane looking at him confused.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Master Wu nodded. “I believe you’ll all get along just perfectly.”</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. The Academy for Young Dragon Hunters</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>After spending his whole life training to fight off dragonbloods, Kai wants to finally put his skills to the test</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>    “HI-YAH!” Kai yelled as he kicked the punching bag, knocking it back slightly before spinning around to kick it again. “Take that!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“You know, usually punching bags are meant for, you know, punching.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Kai looked up to see his sister, Nya, enter the room. Kai rolled his eyes.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“In a fight, you need to be skilled in </span>
  <em>
    <span>everything, </span>
  </em>
  <span>not just punching.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“I know, I’m just teasing you,” Nya assured.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Kai let out a sigh. “I know.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Kai took a seat on the bench and took a drink from his water bottle. Nya walked up towards her brother. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Are you gonna be ready to come to the training room soon?” She asked, gently punching the punching bag.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Yeah, give me a second,” Kai assured, stretching his arms.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“You’d better hurry,” Nya advised, “Cryptor’s getting cranky.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“That’s just how Cryptor always is,” Kai replied.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Doesn’t make it any less annoying.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Alright, alright, I’m coming,” Kai said, standing up.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>The two siblings walked out of the room and started heading for the large training area. It was a bit of a walk to get there, so they tried to walk somewhat quickly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“What kind of training are we doing today?” Kai asked as they walked down the main hall of the Academy.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Pixal said we were actually gonna attempt to fight a dragon,” Nya answered.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Really?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Not a real dragon.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Well duh,” Kai retorted, “I know it’s a simulation, it’s just, they’ve never had us </span>
  <em>
    <span>fight </span>
  </em>
  <span>a dragon before, we just observed.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“I mean, we’ve been training our whole lives,” Nya pointed out. “Sure, we’ve only started intense combat training a couple of years ago, but they were bound to make us fight the actual thing eventually. Or at least, a simulation of the real thing.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>They turned into the training room through the large, foreboding doors. Cryptor and Pixal were both waiting, Pixal standing patiently while Cryptor had his arms crossed and was tapping his foot.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Cryptor looked over at Kai, glaring at him. “You’re late,” he growled.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“It’s fine,” Kai assured, “I’m here now.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Is this just a dumb game to you?” Cryptor asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Well if it was a game, I’m pretty sure I’d be winning,” Kai retorted.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Cryptor let out a chuckle. “You? Beat me? Highly improbable.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Would you two stop bickering?” Pixal ordered. “You’re both acting immature.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Suddenly, the floor lit up, turning the students’ attention to the speaker on the wall.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Students,” the voice spoke, “as you probably know, you are the top of your class. You’ve been training hard to defend Ninjago from the dreaded dragonbloods, but today, you must show off the skills you have learned to fight an actual dragon.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“We’ve got this,” Kai whispered to Nya.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“The type of dragon you will be fighting,” the director continued, “will have the element of ice. Remember that this is just a simulation, but please still be careful and treat this like an actual battle. You may now begin.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>The entire room started to glow as the scenery changed to resemble a city, very similar to Ninjago City. A rack rose up from the ground containing multiple weapons for the students to take. Kai quickly grabbed the sword, his favorite weapon, while Cryptor grabbed the dual katanas next to the sword. Nya picked the spear while Pixal grabbed another, singular katana. The rack disappeared into the ground again and the students all looked around cautiously. They heard a loud roar and turned around to see a massive, white dragon shooting an icy blast into the sky. The sky became cloudy as tiny bits of hail began to fall. They turned their head towards the students and glared.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Watch out!” Nya yelled as the dragon began to charge a blast.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>They all jumped out of the way as the dragon launched a barrage of ice towards the ground.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Pixal, what’s the plan?” Kai asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Split up and attack from the sides,” Pixal informed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>The others nodded as they made a run towards the dragon. The dragon began aiming towards Cryptor, shooting many quick shards at the nindroid. Cryptor easily dodged every shard as he got closer towards the dragon. He was much faster than the others, so getting to the dragon was easy for him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Cryptor! Wait for us to attack!” Pixal called after him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Hmph. I’ve got no time to wait!” Cryptor argued. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>He jumped towards the dragon, but was easily knocked back as the dragon turned away to smack him with their tail. Cryptor was knocked back towards the ground with enough force to make a small crater in the ground.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Ugh,” Cryptor groaned as he slowly sat up. He looked up as the dragon took flight, aiming an icy blast for him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Cryptor!” Pixal yelled, quickly dragging him away from the blast. “Why don’t you listen to my orders?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“C’mon, we all know I’m the best dragon hunter here,” Cryptor argued. “I should be the one in charge.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“But Director Geo put me in charge, so whether or not you like it, you have to listen to me.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>While Pixal and Cryptor were arguing, the dragon turned their attention away, instead turning towards Kai and Nya. They were both standing next to each other, staring up at the dragon.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Kai! Split!” Nya ordered.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Got it!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>They both ran in opposite directions. The dragon looked at both of them before turning towards Nya to follow her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“They’re going after you!” Kai called towards his sister.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“I see that!” Nya replied. She continued running in order to distract the dragon.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Kai ran past Pixal and Cryptor, picking up one of Cryptor’s katanas off of the ground.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Hey! That’s mine!” Cryptor yelled.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Here, take mine,” Pixal said, standing back up and handing him her katana.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Cryptor paused for a moment before standing up and grabbing his other katana.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Kai ran towards the dragon. They were continuing to chase down Nya. Eventually, Nya came across a dead end. She turned around as the dragon loomed over her. They landed on the ground, their sharp claws digging into the concrete. They began charging another blast, but was interrupted as Kai threw Cryptor’s katana at their face. The dragon blinked before turning towards Kai.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“C’mon, take the bait,” Kai mumbled.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>While the dragon was distracted, Nya ran over and jumped up to the side of the dragon, stabbing her spear into their side with enough force to pierce the hard outer scales. The dragon cried out in pain and tried to shake Nya off of them, but she had a firm grip on her spear.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Kai, a little help!” Nya yelled.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“You got it!” Kai replied. He ran closer to the dragon. Before he could get too close, the dragon started firing a frenzy of icy blasts. Kai jumped out of the way, but he got hit in the arm.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Ack!” Kai yelled. A small spike of ice was stuck on the side of his arm. It hurt slightly, but he brushed off the pain. He ran in and used a small patch of ice the dragon created to slide underneath it, slicing through the dragon’s tender underbelly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>The dragon let out another painful roar, stumbling a bit. Nya finally fell off, her spear still stuck in the side of the beast. She landed on the ground roughly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“You ok?” Kai asked as he ran over to help her up.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Yeah,” Nya replied. “Good job with the dragon.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“It’s not over yet,” Kai said turning back to the dragon as it glared down at the two students.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Run!” Kai yelled, grabbing Nya’s arms. They ran away from the corner they were in, managing to slip past the dragon. They got into the open where they met up with Pixal and Cryptor.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Kai! Nya!” Pixal called after them, “Are you two ok?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Yeah,” Kai assured, “just a bit of a scratch here.” He gestured to the piece of ice still stuck on his arm.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“No worried,” Pixal assured, “I can get you fixed up. Nya, Cryptor, you two finish that beast off.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Nya and Cryptor nodded before running back towards the dragon.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Pixal grabbed Kai’s arm. “This may burn a little bit,” Pixal warned. Giving Kai no time to respond, she placed her hand over the ice, super heating her metallic palm to melt the ice off. “Is that better?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Yep,” Kai replied, moving his arm around. “What would we do without you, Pix.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Pixal gave a small smile. “I appreciate your gratitude, Kai.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Alright, enough chatting, we gotta go help Cryptor and Nya.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Before they could do anything else, Kai and Pixal saw the dragon let out one last roar before collapsing onto the ground. They walked over to meet up with Cryptor and Nya next to the body.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Nya was at the dragon’s side, prying her spear out of their skin. Cryptor stood proudly in front of the dragons face, pulling a katana out of the dragon’s throat with ease.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“We did it!” Kai cheered.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“More like I did it,” Cryptor corrected. “I did get the killing blow after all.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Good job students,” the director interrupted, “That was an astounding performance.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>The surroundings all vanished as the room turned back to its normal state.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Please come into the office for a proper meeting.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>The students all walked to the other side of the training room and entered the office, walking up the stairs that led up to it. Director Geo was writing down notes on his clipboard as the students entered. They all bowed towards their director.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Great work on your first dragon fight,” he complimented, “but I have a few notes.” he turned to each student.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Pixal, amazing planning, but you must learn how to properly keep your team in check.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Pixal nodded. “I will keep that in mind for my improvement.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Nya, your strength is amazing like usual, but your plan of attack was flawed. Going after the wings would have been a wiser move.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“I understand,” Nya acknowledged.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Kai, your best performance yet,” Geo said. “If you keep this up, you’ll be out in the field in no time.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Kai smiled. “I look forward to using my skills outside of the Academy.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“And Cryptor,” Geo turned to the nindroid. “That was a very pitiful sight to watch.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Cryptor’s eyes went wide. “E-excuse me?” he asked. “Director, I was the one who finished the beast off. Shouldn’t I receive more credit?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Yes, you did finish off the dragon,” Director Geo acknowledged, “but you put your whole team in jeopardy. I expect much better of you, Cryptor. You’re one of the top students here at The Academy for Young Dragon Hunters. You should be acting like one.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>The others looked nervously at Cryptor, but he didn’t take his eye contact away from the director.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Alright, that’s enough training for today,” Geo said. “Go to your rooms to rest before dinner.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Yes, director,” they all said, giving him another bow. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>The four of them all headed into the hallway, heading back to their rooms. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“So that was a dragon fight,” Kai said. “It was kinda exciting.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Don’t get too cocky, Kai,” Nya warned. “A real dragon will be much harder to fight.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“I know, I know,” Kai replied, “I’m just saying, I did a good job.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Would you two shut up?” Cryptor snapped.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“What? Are you upset because the director liked me more?” Kai taunted.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“I’m tired,” Cryptor replied angrily, “and I don’t want to listen to your dumb voice.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“There’s nothing wrong with needing to improve,” Pixal reassured. “Everyone needs to improve in some aspect of themselves.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Would you cut it out with the cryptic advice!?” Cryptor yelled. “It’s not helpful!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Just take some time to relax, Cryptor,” Pixal advised. “You’ll feel better afterwards.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Yeah yeah, whatever,” Cryptor rolled his eyes. “Let’s just get to our rooms so we can stop talking.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Pixal!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>The students were interrupted as they were approached by the Academy’s head of technology, Cyrus Borg.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Pixal, I heard about your performance against the dragon simulation today,” he said. “I knew you would be able to handle it with little problems.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Thank you, father,” Pixal replied, “I did the best I could.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Cryptor looked at Borg before turning away nervously.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“It’s a shame you didn’t get to show off your combative abilities,” Borg continued, “but I heard you helped Kai heal from an ice attack.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“That is true,” Pixal confirmed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Kai looked at Pixal and Borg with a smile before turning towards Cryptor who was walking away.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“You guys stay here,” Kai said,</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> “I’m gonna go catch up with Cryptor.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Alright,” Nya replied.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Kai started walking quicker to catch up with the nindroid. Cryptor was walking at a decently fast pace, so it took a little bit for Kai to catch up.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Hey, Cryptor, you ok?” Kai asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“I’m fine!” Cryptor snapped, “I just… Father always appreciated her more than me…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Hey, it’s ok,” Kai assured. “Cyrus Borg cares about you just as much as he cares about Pixal.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Cryptor looked at Kai angrily without saying a word. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>The two of them got to their room and walked inside, Cryptor closing the door behind them. Kai plopped onto his bed, laying down on his back while Cryptor sat at the desk and pulled out a book. Kai sat up and looked over at Cryptor. He could tell the nindroid wasn’t in the mood to talk, which was the norm for him. Although Kai found Cryptor to be extremely rude and annoying, he was still a teammate and he didn't want him to be upset.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“So, what do you think is for dinner tonight?” Kai attempted to make small talk.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Don’t know, don’t care,” Cryptor replied bluntly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Kai thought for a moment about what to say next. “You know, Cryptor,” he replied, “I thought you did great back there.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Please, you’re only saying that to make me feel better about my terrible excuse for a performance,” Cryptor argued.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Ok, maybe I am,” Kai admitted, “but the least you could do is appreciate my attempt to be nice.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Cryptor turned towards Kai. “I’m a nindroid built for combat. The least I could do is be competent at my one purpose.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“You are competent,” Kai replied.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Cryptor let out a grunt. “Competent still isn’t good enough.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Oh my God, talking to you is impossible sometimes,” Kai complained.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Kai leaned against the wall and stared out the window. He looked at the forest in the distance.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“You think if I went into the forest I could find a dragonblood?” Kai asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Sure,” Cryptor replied, “you’d also find death there, but you do whatever you want.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Kai rolled his eyes. “It’s just, there’s so many rumors about dragonbloods living in the forest,” Kai rambled, “but we never actually go there to check it out.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“You realize we don’t have permission to actually hunt the dragonbloods, right?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“I know, but what if we actually went out and captured one? Then they’d have to let us go!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“I mean, I could probably hunt one down,” Cryptor said, “but you wouldn’t stand a chance and I’d rather not risk getting in trouble.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“It’s not just about getting permission,” Kai replied, “I want to protect people. And knowing that those monsters are just sitting in that forest, waiting to attack, it rubs me the wrong way.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“I still think it’s a dumb idea,” Cryptor said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“You think all of my ideas are dumb.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Because they are.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Kai turned back to Cryptor to give him a dirty look, but the nindroid was too invested in his book. Kai assumed he was doing some studying. He didn’t know what kind of studying, but that was the only type of reading that Cryptor seemed to enjoy. Kai glanced out the window one more time.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <em>
    <span>Where are you hiding, dragonbloods? </span>
  </em>
  <span>He wondered, </span>
  <em>
    <span>Come out of your hiding places already…</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    
  </em>
  <span>______________________________________________</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>It was after dinner. Pixal had to leave to have a meeting with her father, so Kai was hanging out in her room with Nya.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“I just wanna go out there and fight one of those dragonbloods,” he said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Well, you can’t,” Nya replied.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“I know, but I want to,” Kai responded. “I want to help the world, and I feel so useless just sitting around doing nothing!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“That’s why we’re training, Kai,” Nya reminded. “Pretty soon, we’ll get permission to go out and hunt down dragonbloods, you just need to be patient.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“I’m tired of being patient!” Kai argued.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Yes, you’ve made that pretty obvious.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“I’m serious, Nya,” Kai said. “You heard what Director Geo said today. I was amazing! I could totally capture a dragonblood.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“By yourself?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Yeah, probably.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Wow, that cockiness is making you sound like Cryptor.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“I’m not being cocky!” Kai argued.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Nya chuckled a little bit, “Relax, I’m just teasing you. Nya looked out the window, staring at the starry night sky. “You should probably head back to your room, it’s late.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Yeah,” Kai agreed, standing up. He gave his sister a quick hug before leaving the room. “Good night,” he said before leaving.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Good night.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>______________________________________________</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Kai was still awake, looking outside. Cryptor was powered off for the night, recharging in his own bed on the other side of the room. Kai glanced over at him before looking out the window again. He let out a sigh before opening up the window. He grabbed his sword from the closet and started climbing out the window. He stabbed his sword into the side of the building and slowly slid down carefully, leaving a deep scratch in the wall. Kai reached the ground and pulled his sword out. He stared off into the distance towards the forest. It wasn’t too far away from the Academy, but it would still take a while to get there. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Kai quietly made his way down the short walk through the city between the Academy and the forest. Luckily, most citizens were asleep in their houses so Kai wouldn’t be spotted easily. Part of him knew this was a stupid idea, but he was also too stubborn to just do nothing. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Kai finally reached the edge of the city. He stared into the darkness of the forest ahead of him. He hesitated for a moment before finally entering the ominous woods. The entire area was dark. Kai could barely see where he was going, but he managed to find his wait. He saw something strange on a nearby tree and walked up to it to examine it better.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Burn marks?” Kai questioned. “Yep, there’s definitely a dragonblood living here.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Kai continued to wander further into the woods. He noticed strange lumps of rocks all over the ground. He picked one up, struggling a bit to get it loose from the ground. The shape of the rock was nothing like Kai had ever seen.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“An earth dragonblood?” Kai wondered. He looked down at the ground again and saw a thin layer of frost. “An ice one too?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Kai clutched onto his sword tighter as he continued to wander through the forest. He didn’t notice anyone else in the forest, but was still very cautious. Eventually, Kai knocked into something with his foot. He looked down and saw a trip wire.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“What the?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Before Kai could do anything else, he saw a bag falling towards him. He jumped back slightly, dodging the bag before it could fall on him. As the bad landed, multiple strange looking leaves flew out of it, a strange dust filling the air.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“What the heck!?” Kai questioned. As the dust surrounded him, he began to cough. He felt his body go weak as his eyes started to get sleepy. Eventually, Kai fell onto the ground as everything went black.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I wrote these first four chapters a while ago and FINALLY got around to posting them. These chapters are a lot longer than my usual fics, so it'll probably take more time for me to get these out, but I hope you guys don't mind too much.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Through the Forest of Dragons</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Kai wakes up in the forest to see a group of dragonbloods who have taken him captive.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>    “What happened to him?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Clearly he ran into my trap, Cole! And you said it wouldn’t work.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“I didn’t say it wouldn’t work, just that it was a dumb idea.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Be quiet you two, he’s waking up.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Kai slowly opened his eyes, blinking a couple of times. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Ugh…” he mumbled with a groggy voice. “Wh… what happened? Where am I?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“We should be the ones asking you that!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Kai’s eyes went wide as he noticed three people standing over him. “WHAH!” Kai yelled. He tried to get away from them but quickly realized his arms were tied up. He was sitting up against a tree, so there was no escape. He glared up at his presumable captors. “Who are you!?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“My name is Zane,” one of them responded, “and this is Cole and Jay.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  
  <span>“Zane!” Jay yelled. “You can’t tell him our names, he’s from the Academy!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Oh, my apologies.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Cole let out an annoyed sigh before turning his attention back to Kai. “Alright,” he said, “what are you doing here? Who else is with you?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Kai was silent for a while, not knowing if he should respond or not. “I came here to hunt down some dragonbloods.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“I told you,” Jay interrupted, turning towards Cole.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Cole rolled his eyes. “Where’s the rest of your team?” he asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“What?” Kai replied.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“The rest of your team,” Cole repeated. “I doubt you came in here by yourself.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Kai glanced around nervously. He didn’t take the time to look at his surroundings before. He was still in the forest, but he couldn’t tell where in the forest he was. He couldn’t see anyone else in the area besides the three people standing in front of him. He looked back at Cole. “I came alone.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Don’t play dumb with me,” Cole ordered. “Where is everyone else!?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Cole, I believe he is telling the truth,” Zane said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Cole looked over at Zane before turning back to Kai. Kai continued scowling at him. Cole let out a sigh. “Alright, Zane seems to believe you, so I guess we will too.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“So, are you gonna kill me now?” Kai asked, no trace of fear in his voice.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“What? No, why would we do that?” Jay asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“You know why!” Kai retorted. “You’re dragonbloods, aren’t you? You can’t trick me, I know what your kind is like!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Yeah yeah, whatever you say,” Cole said before grabbing Kai by the arm. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Hey! Let go of me!” Kai ordered, but they simply ignored him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“So, what are we gonna do with him?” Jay asked. “We can’t just let him go, the Academy will definitely come after us!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“We should take him back to Master Wu,” Zane suggested, “he will know what to do with him.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“We still needed to get those tea leaves for him, though,” Cole reminded, “it’ll take us all day to do that with a prisoner with us.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“I guess we will just have to deal with him, then,” Zane replied.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Cole and Jay both let out annoyed sighs.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Well I don’t want to be the one to drag him around,” Cole said. “Zane, you take him.” He pushed Kai over to the other dragonblood, somewhat roughly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Hey! Watch it!” Kai yelled.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Zane grabbed Kai’s wrists, making sure he couldn’t get away. “We should get moving,” he said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Hey! Are you listening to me!? Let go of me!” Kai continued yelling as the dragonbloods started walking deeper into the forest with him. He struggled to free himself, but Zane made sure he couldn’t escape. After a while of attempting to escape, he eventually gave up.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“What all did we need to get again?” Jay asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Wu wanted us to get more of that one tea he likes,” Cole replied, “the one he drinks every morning.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Oh, I remember now.” Jay nodded.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“We also need some more of the sleep tea to restock your trap,” Zane reminded.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Good idea, Zane,” Jay replied.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Kai just walked quietly as they discussed their mission. Kai was confused as he listened to them talk. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Are they seriously just looking for some tea leaves? </span>
  </em>
  <span>he asked himself. He shook his head. </span>
  <em>
    <span>No, they just don’t want you to know what their actual plan is. They’re trying to make you feel safe. Remember, Kai, these are dragonbloods! All they know is evil and destruction! As soon as they let their guard down, I’ll attack them with my- </span>
  </em>
  <span>Kai’s mind froze for a moment. </span>
  <em>
    <span>MY SWORD! </span>
  </em>
  <span>He realized his sword was gone. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Those dragonbloods must have done something with it!</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“You’re being awfully quiet,” Jay pointed up, interrupting Kai from his thoughts.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“You’re one to talk, Jay,” Cole teased.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Cole and Zane both let out little laughs while Jay rolled his eyes. Kai looked over at the dragonbloods again, studying their behavior.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Why would I wanna talk to dragonbloods like you?” Kai asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Well it’s just earlier you kept yelling at us to let you go,” Jay said, “but now you’re just not talking at all.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“He’s probably busy plotting how to take us down,” Cole joked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Kai turned his head towards Cole in a panic. “Y-you’re a mind dragonblood!?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“What? No, I was just making a joke,” Cole said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Yeah, Cole’s an earth dragonblood,” Jay corrected. “Ow!” Jay yelled as Cole smacked the back of his head.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Don’t tell him what powers we have!” he scolded.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“The earth dragonblood…” Kai mumbled. “I remember now. I saw some of your rocks when I got into this forest.” Kai glanced back at Zane, noting his clothing. “And I’ll take it you’re an ice dragonblood?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“That is correct,” Zane confirmed. “How did you know?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Please, I’ve been training my whole life to hunt down dragonbloods. I know how to pick up on what type of dragonblood I’m dealing with,” Kai explained. “Plus your hands are really cold.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Oh, my apologies,” Zane replied.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“To be fair, that might just be from the metal,” Jay suggested.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Kai blinked in surprise. “You’re a nindroid?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Yes,” Zane replied. “Although my father built me to look more like a human, which is possibly why you mistook me for a person at first.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Person? You’re a dragonblood, not a person!” Kai argued.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Cole and Jay both laughed. Kai looked over at them, his face a mix of anger and confusion.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Why are you laughing?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Wow Jay, you weren’t kidding about these Academy students,” Cole said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Kai blinked, looking over at Jay. </span>
  <em>
    <span>What does he know about the Academy? </span>
  </em>
  <span>he wondered. </span>
  <em>
    <span>He definitely wasn’t a former student, then I would’ve recognized him.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Kai continued staring at Jay as he realized he didn’t know his power yet. He remembered those burn marks he found on the tree. </span>
  <em>
    <span>The obvious answer would be a fire dragonblood… but his outfit is blue, so that can’t be right. Unless… blue fire? No, that’s not it…</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    
  </em>
  <span>Jay looked over, noticing Kai staring at him. Jay looked away nervously as Kai continued to study him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“I’m a lightning dragonblood, by the way,” Jay said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“What?” Kai questioned.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“I figured since you already figured out Cole and Zane’s powers, so I’d tell you what mine was.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <em>
    <span>Of course! </span>
  </em>
  <span>Kai would have face palmed at his stupidity if he could. </span>
  <em>
    <span>How could I be such an idiot!</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    
  </em>
  <span>“Oh, we’re here.” Cole announced as they arrived at a large tree.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Kai looked up at it in awe. He had never actually seen one of these tea trees before. In fact, he’s never been in a real forest before. Sure, he would go into Ninjago City on occasion and hang out with Nya and Pixal with Cryptor coming along every once in a while, but most of his time he spent at the Academy. He’s trained in forest simulations before, but he was just now beginning to realize that this was his first time in an ACTUAL forest.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Alright, Zane, I’ll watch him now,” Cole offered.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Zane nodded, handing Kai off to Cole before going over to join Jay to collect the tea leaves. Kai watched as Jay shot some tiny sparks of lightning into the tree to free some of the leaves while Zane created a bowl of ice to catch them. He blinked in surprise. He didn’t know they used their powers for such little tasks.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Cole looked down at Kai’s confused face and let out a little chuckle. “What’s that look for?” he asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“What?” Kai asked, looking up at Cole.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“You look confused.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“I guess I just didn’t know you dragonbloods could be so wasteful with your powers,” Kai explained.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Wasteful? How is this wasteful?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Dragonbloods know nothing but destruction and chaos! I thought, you know, you would use them for things like destroying this entire forest, not for gathering tea leaves!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Wow, there’s a lot you need to learn about dragonbloods,” Cole replied.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“I already know everything about dragonbloods!” Kai snapped. “I’ve trained my whole life to learn how to fight them!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Well clearly, you don’t know everything,” Cole retorted.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Kai looked away angrily. He hated to admit it, but Cole was right. So far, everything he had seen from these dragonbloods went against everything he had learned about them. Kai had to keep reminding himself that they were probably just tricking him. They were just giving him a false sense of security. He knew as soon as they took him back to their master, that’s when they would show their true forms.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“I just realized something,” Cole said, “you never told us your name.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Huh?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“You never told us your name.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“I know what you said,” Kai scoffed. “I just don’t understand why I’d give you my name.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Well, you already know our names,” Cole said. “I figured it would only be fair.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Kai didn’t reply. He looked over at Jay and Zane who finished gathering the leaves and were putting them safely into a bag. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Alright, we just need to get the other leaves and then we can get back to the monastery,” Jay said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Hopefully we can get back before it turns dark,” Zane added, looking up at the sky. It was still bright out, but he could tell the amount of daylight was beginning to dwindle.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Alright, we’d better hurry then,” Cole decided. “Let’s go.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>The four of them continued walking again, Cole making sure to hold Kai’s wrists. Kai stared at the ground for a while, a slight scowl still on his face.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Kai…” he mumbled.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Huh?” Cole questioned.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“You asked for my name,” Kai explained. “My name’s Kai.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Cole blinked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“I figured it would only be fair if I told you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>______________________________________________</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>The four of them finally reached the other tea tree. They used the same method to retrieve the leaves while Cole and Kai stood to the side. As they finished gathering the tea leaves, they looked up and saw the sun beginning to set.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Dang it!” Jay yelled. “There’s no way we’ll get back now, it’s too dark to navigate the forest!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“I was afraid of this.” Zane sighed. He quickly began scanning the area for sticks to burn. “We will have to set up camp for the night.” He threw some sticks into a pile. “Cole? If you would?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Cole nodded before concentrating his power into the ground. A circle of small stones surrounded the pile of sticks. He looked over at Jay who held out a hand towards the sticks. He shot out a bolt of lightning and the sticks instantly erupted into flames. He then looked over at Kai.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“What do we do with him?” he asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“We can’t let him escape while we’re sleeping,” Cole said. “I’ve got an idea.” He dragged Kai over to a tree off to the side. “Stay here,” he ordered.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Oh yeah? And how are you gonna make me?” Kai raised. He went quiet as he noticed a rocky chain forming around his ankle. Cole held his hand out as he extended the chain towards the tree, tying it around the trunk. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“There, now you won’t be able to escape,” Cole said with a smile. He turned around and began to walk over to the fire with the others.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Hey! Wait!” Kai demanded, but Cole kept walking. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>He shivered slightly as a gentle breeze brushed by. He stared at the others, partially longing to be able to sit with them next to the warm fire. Feeling tired of watching them, he turned around and sat down, leaning against the tree. He looked down at the ground. </span>
  <em>
    <span>What if I can’t get away from them? </span>
  </em>
  <span>he thought. </span>
  <em>
    <span>What if I can’t get back to the Academy? What if… what if I don’t see them again? </span>
  </em>
  <span>Kai let out a sigh as he continued staring at the cold ground.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>______________________________________________</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Zane? How long is this gonna take?” Jay whined. “I’m hungry!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It is almost done,” Zane assured as he stirred the soup. He always made sure to carry an extra soup pot with him just in case they needed to set up camp in the forest. It happened much more often than the dragonbloods would like to admit. Zane took one last taste test before smiling and pulling out some wooden bowls from his bag. He handed two of them to Cole and Jay who grabbed them eagerly. Zane smiled as he served the two of them some of his soup.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Thanks, Zane,” Cole said. “You’re</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>cooking is always so amazing.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, even when you need to use</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>weird forest plants to make it!” Jay added, his mouth full of soup.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Zane let out a little chuckle. “I’m glad you enjoy it.” He glanced over towards Kai who was still leaning against the tree. “Do you think we should talk to him?” Zane asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Who, the dragon slayer?” Jay replied. “Why should we talk to him? He’s the one who wants us dead!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“I know, but I think we should still be nice to him,” Zane replied.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Well if you wanna go talk to him, be my guest,” Cole said, “but Jay and I are gonna stay here by the nice, warm fire.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Zane looked down at his own bowl of soup. He hadn’t even touched it yet. He let out a sigh before standing up, walking over to Kai with his bowl of soup. Cole and Jay watched Zane with slight caution on their faces.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Kai heard the sound of footsteps approaching and looked up as he saw Zane. Zane gave Kai a patient smile.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“I made soup,” the nindroid informed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Tch,” Kai scoffed. “You probably poisoned it, didn’t you?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“What? Why would I do that?” Zane questioned. He placed the bowl next to Kai before walking around to untie his wrists.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“YOU UNTIED HIM!” Zane heard Jay yell from over by the fire. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Zane let out a sigh. “I figured you would probably be hungry,” Zane continued. “I don’t need to eat, so you can go ahead and eat it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Kai looked down at the soup before looking up at Zane. “Why did you untie me?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Well, it would be difficult to eat without your hands,” Zane replied.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“What if I try to escape?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“I highly doubt you would be able to escape Cole’s chains,” Zane said. “Besides, you’re only one dragon hunter in training, and there’s three dragonbloods you would have to fight. Your odds are not very good.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Kai glared at Zane. He took notice of Zane's icy blue eyes shining in the night. Looking at him now, it’s pretty obvious that he’s a nindroid. He let out a sigh. “Whatever.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Zane took this as a cue to leave the dragon hunter alone. He walked back to sit with his friends. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Zane, are you crazy!?” Jay asked. “You untied him!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Yes, I did.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“What if he tries to attack us now!?” Jay questioned.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Stop overreacting, Jay,” Cole said. “Zane’s smart. He knows what he’s doing.” He glanced back at Kai. “I hope.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Zane let out a sigh. “It is late. We should be resting. I can stay up and keep an eye on Kai if it makes you feel better.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Cole and Jay glanced at each other.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“You sure you’ll be ok with that?” Cole asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“I’ll be fine,” Zane assured, “I still have plenty of charge left. I should be able to last until we get back to the monastery.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Alright…” Cole replied before letting out a yawn. “Just wake us up if you need us.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“I will,” Zane assured. He watched as Cole and Jay both layed down on the ground. Zane put a couple more sticks into the fire to keep it burning and warm. He curled up, watching the fire before looking over at Kai.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>______________________________________________</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>The next day, Cole and Jay both woke up. Zane was still wide awake as he stayed up the entire night. He walked over to go wake up Kai while the other two started packing up their supplies. He walked over and saw Kai sleeping peacefully against the tree. He noticed the empty bowl sitting next to him. He gave Kai a gentle nudge.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Kai? It is morning,” he whispered.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Erk… Cryptor?” Kai mumbled. He looked up, expecting to see a pair of red eyes looking at him, but was instead greeted by a pair of bright blue eyes. “Oh… right.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Cole walked over and freed Kai from the chain, making sure to tie him up again before freeing him. The four of them began heading back to the monastery. Kai tried his best to stretch, his back hurting from his terrible sleeping position.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“We’re almost there,” Cole said. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Kai started to notice less trees as they continued. He looked up at the sky, finally being able to see it clearly without a blanket of leaves covering it. He noticed a wall in the distance, a large gate in the middle. Kai guessed this was the monastery the others kept mentioning.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Cole opened up the gate as Jay and Zane walked in with Kai.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Master Wu?” Cole called. “We’re back!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“And we have a little something extra!” Jay added.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Kai looked around at the opening. It looked to be a training area. It was surprisingly nice and well kept for a dragonblood training area. He also noticed the lack of technological enhancements to the training area, something he wasn’t used to seeing. He looked over at the main building. It had a quaint feel to it. The door opened up as an old man walked out.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Ah, my students,” he greeted, “you have returned.” He stopped as he noticed the extra person with them. “Who is this?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“We found him in the forest,” Jay explained. “He’s from the Academy.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Wu walked up to Kai, observing the young hunter’s face. He stared into his eyes before stepping back, shock filling his eyes.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“I sense a great power coming from him,” Wu informed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Wu’s students all gasped, leaving Kai confused.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Master, you don’t mean?” Jay asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Wu nodded. “He is a dragonblood.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Oh boi who would've guessed that Kai was a dragonblood? In all seriousness though, I'm glad to be getting into the actual plot of this au. All the backstory stuff was fun, but yeah I'm excited to write plot stuff now.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. The Dragonblood Monastery</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The other dragonbloods give Kai a short tour of the monastery.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  
  <span>“Are you serious?” Cole asked. “Master, he’s a student from the Academy. Why would the Academy ever recruit a dragonblood?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Wu shook his head. “I haven’t been wrong before. I can sense that this boy is indeed a dragonblood.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Get real, old man,” Kai retorted. “I’m not a dragonblood, I’m a dragon hunter! I- Ow!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Wu swiftly smacked Kai on the head with his staff. “You should learn to respect your elders.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Kai scowled at Wu, but said nothing.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“But Master, if he’s a dragonblood, what do we do with him?” Zane asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Wu stroked his beard as he pondered. “Well, we cannot let him leave,” he decided. “He knows where we are, so he could easily tell the other members of the Academy about our whereabouts, and I don’t think the three of you are capable of fighting off an army on your own.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“So we’re just gonna keep him here?” Jay asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Yes, we have to,” Wu replied. “Perhaps he could join you in training.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Like I’d ever train with dragonbloods!” Kai argued. “And how do you plan on making sure I don’t escape?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Well there’s three of us,” Cole replied, “and only one of you. I think you’ll have some trouble taking out all three of us.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Kai wanted to argue with him, but he knew he was right. Kai shook his head. “You can’t just keep me here! The people at the Academy will know I’m gone. My sister will look for me!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“You have a sister?” Jay asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Jay, focus,” Cole reminded.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Wu thought again for a moment. “I believe the Academy will put more restrictions up for their students, considering the fact that you’ve gone missing.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Kai was angry that Wu kept making good points. “Can you at least untie my wrists?” he asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>The three students looked over at Wu for an answer.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Wu nodded. “Untie him.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Zane gently untied the knot keeping Kai’s wrists together. After his arms were free, Kai looked at his wrists, rubbing them as they were slightly sore.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Was it too tight?” Zane asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“No, it was fine,” Kai replied.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Why don’t you show our new guest around?” Wu asked. “Since he’s going to be living here now, it only seems fair.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Oh c’mon, Master!” Jay complained. “We’re not gonna treat him like a roommate, he’s still an enemy!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“The best way to defeat an enemy is by making them your friend,” Wu reminded, walking inside.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Jay and Cole both groaned, but Zane didn’t seem too bothered. “Come on guys,” Zane said, “we should be nice to him. He is a dragonblood after all.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Kai rolled his eyes. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Uh huh,” Jay replied sarcastically. “Well until we see him turn into a dragon or use elemental powers, I’m just gonna assume Master Wu had some bad judgement.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“But he’s never been wrong before,” Cole reminded. “He was able to sense our power after all.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Yeah, but we all turned into dragons!” Jay argued. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Would you two stop arguing?” Zane asked, a slight harshness to his tone. “Come on Kai, I’ll show you inside.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Pft,” Kai replied. “I don’t have to listen to you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“I am this close to just chucking him at-” Cole started.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Cole,” Zane interrupted. He turned back to Kai, grabbing the hunter’s hand and walking inside. Kai knew he wouldn’t be able to escape from Zane now. Nindroids always had firm grips that you couldn’t escape, even if they didn’t hold on tight. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Zane started walking down the main hall with Kai, Cole and Jay close behind to make sure he didn’t try anything. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“This is the Dragonblood Monastery,” Zane explained. “Master Wu found all three of us and invited us here to train our powers in order to use them for good.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Oh, so he gave you guys a choice in the matter?” Kai retorted.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Well we were smart enough to realize that dragonbloods are more than what everyone thinks they are,” Cole replied. “You clearly aren’t.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Please, no more arguing,” Zane urged. The group arrived at multiple bedrooms. “These are our bedrooms,” Zane continued. “Master Wu is the dragonblood of creation, a very powerful element that allows him to create almost anything he can think of. He created our outfits and these rooms for us, and I assume he will make a new room for you two.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Kai looked at each of the rooms. Each one had specific items where you could easily tell whose room was whose.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Zane abruptly let out a yawn. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“You ok?” Jay asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Yeah,” Zane replied, “I just need to recharge. But we should finish this tour first, shouldn’t we?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Zane, you stayed up all night watching Kai,” Cole said. “You need to go rest.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Will you two be able to handle it?” Zane asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“We’ll be fine, Zane,” Jay assured. “Just go get some sleep.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Ok,” Zane replied. There was slight hesitation in his voice, but he left the group and went into his room to rest anyway. As soon as Zane closed his door, Cole grabbed Kai’s wrist and started walking down the hallway, giving Kai no time to react.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Hey! Slow down!” Kai said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“This is the kitchen, this is the dining room, over there is Master Wu’s room,” Cole directed, “and that’s just about everything you need to know.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“You’re terrible at giving tours,” Kai said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Too bad,” Cole replied. “Since you’re gonna be living here, you’ll find everything on your own anyway.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“I feel like you’re using the term ‘living here’ very loosely,” Kai responded.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Look,” Jay entered, “I don’t trust you, and Cole doesn’t trust you. And you don’t trust anyone here. Nobody wants you here, but you’re stuck here anyway so stop complaining and get over it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Kai glared at Jay. “Do you even care about how I feel about this!?” he snapped. “I had to leave my friends and only family behind because your stupid Master won’t let me leave this place!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“W-well you shouldn’t have wandered into the woods then!” Jay argued.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Jay, lay off,” Cole said. “Kai does kinda have a point.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Jay shook his head. “Does he even realize that we had to leave </span>
  <em>
    <span>our </span>
  </em>
  <span>families behind?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“You guys had a choice!” Kai yelled. “I didn’t get a choice to live here, I’m being forced to live here!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Ok yeah, this situation sucks for all of us,” Cole said. “But yelling and arguing isn’t gonna fix any of it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Kai glared at Cole before turning around and stomping away. Cole and Jay considered following him, but stopped for a moment.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Why are you suddenly being nice to him?” Jay asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Well arguing with him isn’t gonna do anything,” Cole replied. “I still don’t trust him, but if he’s gonna be stuck here with us, I’d rather not make him even more of an enemy than he already is.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Jay let out a sigh. “We should probably go follow him, huh?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Yeah, probably.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>The two of them rushed down the hall, making sure Kai didn’t try to escape.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>______________________________________________</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Nya paced around her room, waiting for Pixal to get back with information. Ever since her brother disappeared last night, she couldn’t sit still. She couldn’t focus on anything and when news came out that Kai was gone, the group's training routine for the day was cancelled. Finally, Pixal entered the room. Nya looked at her, but the expression on Pixal’s face told her there wasn’t any good news.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“I’m sorry,” Pixal whispered. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Nya shook her head. “No…” she mumbled. “No no no!” She sat down on her bed, covering her face with her hands. Pixal walked over, sitting next to her and wrapping her arms around her to comfort her. Nya started gently crying, slowly getting louder. Pixal didn’t try to stop her, she just let her cry. Eventually, Nya stopped, lifting her head and wiping her eyes.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“What… what did they say exactly?” she asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Pixal let go of Nya and looked at her. “Well, they didn’t find his body,” she explained, “but they found footprints leading into the forest that were assumed to be his. They found his supplies in the forest, along with what seemed to be evidence of dragonbloods in the forest.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Nya stared at Pixal in disbelief. “So, he…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Pixal nodded. “The dragonbloods killed him…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Nya could feel herself begin to cry again, but stopped as she heard footsteps approaching. The door opened and Cryptor walked in.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“So, you guys heard the news?” he asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“I assume you’re talking about Kai,” Pixal said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Yep,” Cryptor replied. “I don’t have to deal with him annoying me when I’m trying to study anymore!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“He DIED!” Nya yelled. “My brother died you jerk!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Cryptor was taken aback at first, not expecting Nya to snap like that. “Look, I’m sorry,” he apologized. “I know he probably meant a lot to you, and now he’s gone.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Nya calmed down slightly before looking away. “Yeah… he was the last family I had left… Well, other than you guys.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Cryptor walked over and placed his hand on Nya’s shoulder. “Nya,” he said, “I just want to tell you, your brother was a complete moron for going into the woods without telling anyone and getting himself killed.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Nya tried lunging at Cryptor in rage, but Pixal managed to hold her back.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“SHUT UP!” Nya yelled. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Nya, calm down,” Pixal said gently. “Getting mad won’t bring Kai back.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Nya let out a sigh, sitting back down. “You’re right.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Cryptor stared at Nya, confused about her sudden change in emotions. He had seen her angry before, but he had never seen her this upset. “You know,” he started.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Just leave,” Nya ordered.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“What?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Cryptor, if you’re gonna make another comment about Kai being stupid, I don’t want to hear it,” Nya clarified. “Leave.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Cryptor still looked confused, so Pixal got up and grabbed his wrist, dragging him out of the room. She closed the door behind her and turned back to Cryptor, glaring at him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“What?” Cryptor asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Her brother just died and you’re treating it like it doesn’t even matter!” Pixal yelled. “Give her some time to mourn!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“I just don’t understand,” Cryptor replied. “We’re dragon hunters. Well, hunters in training. The likelihood of one of us being killed by a dragonblood is extremely high. Doesn’t she know that?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Of course she knows that!” Pixal replied. “But that doesn’t make it hurt any less!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Cryptor blinked. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Pixal sighed. “You can’t tell me that you aren’t upset about Kai being gone,” she said. “He’s been your roommate since you were built! How do you not care?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“He was annoying!” Cryptor argued. “And plus, now that I don’t have to worry about sharing my room, I can finally hang up that poster of Mr. E I got last year!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Pixal rolled her eyes. “You really care more about some stupid poster than the life of someone you’ve known your whole life?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Hey! It’s not a stupid poster!” Cryptor argued. “Mr. E is the greatest nindroid in all of Ninjago and one of Garmadon’s greatest soldiers! And if you disrespect him one more time I’ll-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Just shut up, Cryptor,” Pixal interrupted. She turned around getting ready to go back into her room. “I don’t know why I expected </span>
  <em>
    <span>you </span>
  </em>
  <span>to understand.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Pixal went back into her room, leaving Cryptor completely alone. He stood still for a minute, trying to process what Pixal had said. “Hmph.” He turned around and started heading back to his room. “She’s the one who doesn’t understand.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Cryptor opened his door, closing it behind him. He walked over to his closet where he had safely kept his poster. He pulled it out, smiling as he looked at Mr. E’s cool pose. He walked over to Kai’s former side of the room. He looked at the picture Kai had hung up on the wall of them. He looked at Kai smiling in the picture. He was about to put his poster up over the picture, but hesitated. He continued looking at the picture of the four of them. They all looked so happy, except for himself. He was the only one without a smile. Cryptor shook his head. “Whatever.” He placed the poster on the wall, covering up the photo. He stepped back to look at it and smiled. “Alright,” he said to himself, “time to put up everything else.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>______________________________________________</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Zane woke up from his short rest. It was beginning to reach sunset, and Cole was planning on a late dinner. He was a terrible cook, but he was so eager to make dinner that no one stopped him. Zane walked outside and saw Kai sitting alone. He was slightly surprised to see him alone, but walked over to him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“What are you doing outside by yourself?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Kai jumped, not expecting someone to show up. He turned to Zane. The nindroid’s eyes had a faint glow to them as the sky grew darker and a gentle smile on his face.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“What do you want?” Kai asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Zane sat down next to him. “You seem lonely,” he commented. “And also I think it would be smart not to leave you alone for too long.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Kai rolled his eyes before looking away towards the sunset. Zane followed his gaze, watching the sunset as well.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“It’s beautiful,” Zane said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Yeah,” Kai agreed. “I’ve never really watched the sunset like this before.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Zane blinked, turning towards Kai. “You haven’t?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Nope,” Kai replied. “I mean, I watched it from my window before, well, the sunrise at least,” he explained. “But the Academy makes sure we’re in our rooms at a certain time. We don’t really get to go out at night unless it’s for training.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“I see,” Zane replied. He turned to watch the sunset again. He was interrupted as he heard Kai let out a sigh.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“You guys really aren’t gonna let me leave, are you?” he asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“I’m sorry, Kai,” Zane replied. “We cannot risk you giving information about us back to the Academy.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Kai paused for a moment, looking down at the ground. “That’s understandable.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“I swear it isn’t that bad here,” Zane tried assuring, “I think you’ll grow to like it here after a-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“I’m never gonna see her again…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“What?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Nya, my sister,” Kai explained. “I didn’t tell her I was leaving, or anyone for that matter. I’m never gonna see her again, or Pixal, or Cryptor or…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Zane placed his hand on Kai’s shoulder, but he pulled away.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Don’t try to comfort me, dragonblood,” he growled. “You can’t possibly know what I’m going through so don’t even try to tell me everything will be ok.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Zane went quiet for a bit, looking away and lowering his hand. “I know the circumstances are different, but,” he said, “I had to leave my family too.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Kai rolled his eyes. “Yeah yeah, you all left your families to train here, I already know.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“My father died…” Zane continued.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Kai blinked before turning towards Zane. “You’re father?” he asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Well, my creator. He treated me and my brother, Echo, like we were his sons,” Zane explained.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Well of course he would, you </span>
  <em>
    <span>were </span>
  </em>
  <span>his son,” Kai agreed. “Listen, I know a couple of nindroids back at the Academy, I know how it works.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Zane stared at Kai silently.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“But, whatever,” Kai replied. “I’m sure your brother is safe and he knows you’re ok, so no it isn’t the same as me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Actually, no,” Zane corrected. “Echo… I didn’t tell him I was leaving with Master Wu. After I transformed into a dragon, I was so scared about what had happened, that I just… left… without saying goodbye to my brother…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Kai went quiet. </span>
  <em>
    <span>He was scared? </span>
  </em>
  <span>He questioned. </span>
  <em>
    <span>No, that’s not possible. He probably already knew he was a dragonblood, right? All dragonbloods are the same… Right?</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    
  </em>
  <span>Zane let out a sigh, interrupting Kai from his thoughts. “I’m sure Echo is safe, though,” he said. “He’s living in the village with everyone else. He may not have me anymore, but he has the others.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Stars began lighting up the night sky. Zane stood up, reaching a hand out for Kai to take.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“We should be heading inside,” Zane said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Kai looked at Zane’s hand before standing up on his own. Zane awkwardly put his hand down as Kai started walking inside. Zane watched him for a moment before following.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>______________________________________________</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Harumi was sitting in a room, along with a black haired boy with a prominent green streak in his hair.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Morro, how long is this gonna take?” Harumi complained.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“You know how long Garmadon’s meetings take,” Morro replied. “It could still be a while.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Almost as soon as Morro finished speaking, the door opened. A blond boy with deep red eyes walked in.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Lloyd,” Harumi greeted, “How was everything?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Lloyd completely ignored her, walking over to a chest. He opened it, pulling out a sword.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Uh, Lloyd? Did you hear me?” Harumi asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Yes, I heard you, Harumi,” Lloyd replied, an annoyed tone to his voice.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Harumi rolled her eyes. Morro looked at Harumi before looking over at Lloyd.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Lloyd, what did Garmadon say?” he asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Lloyd turned around. “Reports from the Academy say that one of their students went missing and is presumed dead,” he explained. “He was killed by a dragonblood.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Harumi and Morro looked at each other before looking back at Lloyd.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“What kind?” Harumi asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Don’t know,” Lloyd replied. “Just that it was near the forest and there's likely multiple of them.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“So, are we planning an attack?” Harumi asked, starting to get excited. “I’ve been wanting to send E out and-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“No,” Lloyd ordered.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“What?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“We aren’t making any attacks just yet,” Lloyd replied. “Garmadon wants more information first. He wants to know what exactly we’re dealing with before we risk anything.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“We know what we’re dealing with!” Harumi argued. “Dragonbloods! It’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>always </span>
  </em>
  <span>dragonbloods! I programmed E to kill any dragonblood he sees, I just need to send him into the forest and-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Quiet!” Lloyd ordered. “Ugh, why don’t you ever listen to my orders? After I told you NOT to work on Mr. E, you decided, ‘no, I worked too hard for this, I can’t just NOT make him a murder machine!’”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Harumi crossed her arms. “Oh, and you’re just gonna sit around while those dragonbloods are out there being a danger to the world?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Oh, trust me,” Lloyd assured, “as soon as one of those dragonbloods slip up and show themselves,” Lloyd pointed his sword at Harumi. “I’ll take care of it.”</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>It's been a while since I've posted for this fic. I just wanted to take a break from writing this fic for a bit, which will probably happen again in the future. This fic is probably gonna end up being really long and I know I won't be able to write the whole thing without taking breaks. But don't worry, I have been working on other chapters again so I should hopefully be getting a couple more chapters out soon.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. A Training Excercise</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The dragonbloods continue their training while Kai discovers something new about himself.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  
  <span>A couple of weeks had passed. Kai was starting to get used to the monastery, though he didn’t want to admit it to the others. He had his own room that Wu made for him, which is where he spent most of his time. The others had even started to warm up to Kai, mainly Cole and Zane. Jay was still untrusting of the dragon hunter in training, but the others started to, more or less, enjoy his company.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>One day, the dragonbloods were outside training their combat skills. Kai sat to the side, watching like he usually did. Master Wu was with them, keeping a close eye on Kai. Although Kai wasn’t as aggressive as he was when he first arrived, Wu knew it would be best not to give him full freedom around the monastery just yet.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Take that!” Jay shouted, shooting lighting at a training dummy. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Cole chuckled at Jay. The lightning dragonblood was always so extra during training. He glanced back at Kai. “Hey, Kai!” he called over. “You wanna join us?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“What?” Kai asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Cole, what are you doing?” Jay asked in a whisper.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Well he </span>
  <em>
    <span>was </span>
  </em>
  <span>training to be a dragon hunter,” Cole reasoned. “He could teach us some things about fighting.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“That sounds like a good idea,” Zane agreed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>The three of them looked over at Kai, Cole and Zane smiling while Jay still seemed hesitant. Kai looked at Master Wu who just nodded.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Uh, ok,” Kai replied, getting up. He walked over to join the others in the training area. He looked around, confused. “Um, where are the weapons?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Oh, we uh, don’t use weapons,” Cole explained.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Kai raised an eyebrow. “Seriously?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Master Wu wants us to learn to control our dragonblood powers,” Zane said. “He wants us to rely on our elemental abilities instead of using weapons.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Well now, if you haven’t noticed, I’m not a dragonblood,” Kai replied. “I can’t use any elemental powers.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Master Wu chuckled, causing his students to turn around to look at him. “Somebody is still in denial I see.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“I’m not in denial!” Kai yelled. “You’re the one who’s in denial!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Wu held out his hand, using his powers to create a golden sword. He tossed the sword towards Kai who easily caught it and looked at it in awe. “Perhaps you can teach my students how to fight against someone with a weapon.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Psh, he’s been here for so long, he probably doesn’t even remember how to use a sword,” Jay remarked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Is that a challenge?” Kai asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“C’mon, Jay, no need to make him angry,” Cole said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“No,” Wu interrupted. “This will be good practice for my two newest students. Cole, Zane, stand back and let them fight.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“I’m not your student!” Kai argued.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Let the sparring match begin,” Wu instructed, completely ignoring Kai.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Without hesitation, Jay shot a bolt of lightning at Kai.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Ack!” Kai yelled. “Give me time to react!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“In a real battle, your opponent won’t give you time to react!” Jay replied. He shot another jolt, but Kai rolled out of the way.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Alright Kai, remember your training,” he whispered to himself. He continued dodging Jay’s attacks trying to come up with a plan of attack. </span>
  <em>
    <span>I never trained to fight against a person! </span>
  </em>
  <span>Kai thought.</span>
  <em>
    <span> I only trained for dragons!</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    
  </em>
  <span>Kai eventually got close to Jay, landing a kick on him. Jay stumbled slightly, but was able to dodge Kai’s next attack. Kai started swinging his sword towards Jay, but he jumped out of the way. He was seemingly too fast for Kai, but Kai finally managed to land a small scratch on Jay’s arm. He winced slightly, but didn’t let it get to him. Jay began charging a larger blast, firing it off towards Kai. The blast was too big to dodge, so Kai took the hit. He was knocked onto the ground and dropped his sword. He tried to reach for his sword, but it was too far away. Jay jumped in, attempting to kick Kai and get him away from his sword. Kai looked over at the sword. It was too far away from him to easily grab now.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Jay chased Kai around with his lightning, doing his best to keep the hunter away from his weapon. Cole and Zane watched on in worry.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Master, this isn’t fair,” Cole argued. “Kai’s completely defenseless now.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Maybe not,” Wu replied, not taking his eyes off of the fight,</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Cole turned his attention back to the fight, still concerned for Kai.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Kai kept dodging Jay’s attacks until finally, he hit a wall. There was nowhere for him to escape now. Jay began charging another massive attack.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“So much for a dragon hunter,” Jay taunted. “I thought you were trained for this.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Jay shot the blast towards Kai.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“I AM a dragon hunter!” Kai yelled.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As the lightning started to reach his body, Kai suddenly felt a surge of power, fire shooting from his hands to disarm Jay’s attack. Everyone watched in shock as Kai shot the blast of fire directly at Jay. Completely surprised by Kai’s sudden power, Jay made no attempt to dodge the attack and was blasted into one of the walls of the monastery. Kai breathed heavily as he stared at Jay’s defeated body leaning against the wall before looking down at his hands in confusion.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“What… what was that?” he asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Wu smiled. “I’ve never been wrong about a dragonblood.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Woah, how did you do that?” Cole asked, running up to Kai.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“You used your powers without turning into a dragon!” Zane exclaimed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“But… you guys do that all the time,” Kai replied.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“We only learned how to use our powers after transforming for the first time,” Cole explained.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Yes, it is normally rare for someone to discover their dragonblood powers before ever transforming,” Wu confirmed, walking over to the others. “However, likely due to your previous training, you were much closer to unlocking your powers than most.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Kai looked at his hands again, shaking his head. “No…” he denied. “That wasn’t me, that must’ve been something Jay did, I’m not-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Kai,” Wu interrupted. “There’s no denying it anymore. You are a dragonblood.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Hello, I’m still over here!” Jay yelled from the other side of the training area.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>The group rushed over, Cole, helping Jay off of the ground.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“You ok, Sparky?” Cole asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Yeah, yeah I’m ok,” Jay assured, brushing the dirt off of his pants. He looked up at Kai, pure disbelief in his eyes. “He really is a dragonblood,” he mumbled.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Jay, let's get inside and get you cleaned up,” Zane said, grabbing Jay’s arm. Jay followed silently, not taking his eyes off of Kai. Cole followed the two of them, leaving Kai alone with Wu. Kai continued staring off in disbelief.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“So,” Wu said, “now that you have confirmation, I’ll be glad to teach you about how to use your powers for good.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Are you serious!?” Kai snapped.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“I don’t see why you wouldn’t want to,” Wu replied. “You’re a dragonblood. You cannot go back to the Academy. If they found out, they would kill you on sight.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Kai flinched. He wanted to pretend Wu was wrong, but he couldn’t lie to himself. That’s exactly what would happen if they knew he was a dragonblood. “I’m gonna head inside…” Kai said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>______________________________________________</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Cryptor sliced the training robot in half with his sword. He gave a satisfied smile as he saw the pieces of it fall to the ground. He looked over at his teammates. Pixal seemed to be training the same way she normally did, but Nya looked as if she was using no energy to train. Cryptor narrowed his eyes and started walking over to her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Nya didn’t even bother trying to fight against her training robot. She just did the bare minimum she needed to do in order to block its attacks. Suddenly, a sword went flying by, hitting the robot and causing it to fall over, defeated. Nya looked at it in surprise before turning around to see Cryptor standing behind her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“You’re welcome,” he said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“What do you want, Cryptor?” Nya asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“I just noticed you’ve seemed to be lacking recently,” he commented. “If you don’t start pulling your weight, it’ll drag us all down.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“I don’t need your help!” Nya argued. “I’m just… tired.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Cryptor stared at her, noticing her body language. “You’re still upset about Kai.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Why wouldn’t I be!?” she snapped. “Unlike you, I actually care about people!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Cryptor flinched slightly, but Nya didn’t seem to notice. He narrowed his eyes. “You need to stop moping about his death,” he said. “Being sad helps nobody.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“You realize you aren’t being helpful, right?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“For once just listen to me, ok!?” Cryptor replied. “Don’t get sad about this. Get angry. Channel that sadness into anger. Don’t be sad that Kai’s gone, be angry that those dragonbloods killed him! Get furious at those beasts for what they did to your brother!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Nya paused, taking in Cryptor’s words. She turned around.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Are you gonna continue being useless, or are you gonna do something to avenge your brother's death!?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“YAH!” Nya yelled, turning back around and hitting Cryptor with the back of her spear. Taken off guard, Cryptor was knocked down. Nya pointed her spear at him. “Those dragonbloods are gonna regret ever being born.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Cryptor grinned. “That’s the spirit.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>______________________________________________</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Jay was sitting alone in his room. He had a bandage wrapped around his arm where Kai had scraped him with his sword. He heard a knock on his door, but before he could say anything, the person already opened it. Jay turned around to see Kai.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Hey, uh, how are you doing?” Kai asked awkwardly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“What do you want?” Jay responded.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Kai walked in to sit next to Jay, completely uninvited. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“I just wanted to apologize for earlier,” Kai explained. “I didn’t mean for you to get hurt like that.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Tch,” Jay scoffed. “I know you meant to do that. Everyone from the Academy is the same.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“What is that supposed to mean!?” Kai asked defensively.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“You’re all cocky jerks!” Jay responded. “You’re exactly the same as that Cryptor guy…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Cryptor?” Kai questioned. “You know Cryptor?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Of course I know Cryptor! He completely trashed my invention and made me feel like a complete idiot!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“That does sound like Cryptor…” Kai agreed. “Wait, you made inventions for the Academy?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“No, my parents did. I wanted to, but then Cryptor completely ruined my dreams…” Jay’s voice trailed off. “That’s when I transformed into a dragon for the first time and Master Wu found me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Kai thought for a moment before gasping. “You’re the son of Ed and Edna Walker!?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Yep, those are my parents.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Holy crap, THE Ed and Edna Walker!? The greatest inventors for the Academy!?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Uh, yeah,” Jay responded, feeling slightly weirded out by Kai’s sudden change in tone.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Wow, I never would have guessed that their son was a dragonblood… They helped out the Academy for so many years, but they suddenly just stopped helping us.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Yeah,” Jay replied. “Because their SON is a DRAGONBLOOD!” Jay let out an annoyed sigh. “Look, will you just go already?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“What’s your problem?” Kai asked. “Cole and Zane are nice to me, why do you hate me so much?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Jay narrowed his eyes before looking away. “A student from the Academy shows up and turns out to be a dragonblood,” he explained. “Cole and Zane, heck, even Master Wu expect you to just join us instantly because of that,” Jay sighed. “But I’ve learned not to get my hopes up…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>The whole room went quiet. Kai just stared at Jay before letting out a sigh as well. “Ok,” he whispered. He got up. “I’ll leave.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Jay looked up at Kai leaving. Part of him wanted to tell him to stay, but he said nothing. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Kai walked outside. It was nighttime now and the stars lit up the sky. Kai looked up at it before continuing to walk away. He was heading for the front gate when he was stopped.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Kai?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Kai turned around to see Zane standing, watching him with a worried expression. The nindroid started walking closer.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Kai, what are you doing?” Zane asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“I, uh,” Kai responded.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Zane’s expression saddened. “You… you’re trying to escape back to the Academy, aren’t you?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Kai looked at Zane, saying nothing. He looked away.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“After all of this time,” Zane said, “after you found out that you’re a dragonblood, after we tried being friends with you, you still want to go back?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“I’m not wanted here,” Kai replied.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Of course you are wanted here,” Zane objected.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Kai shook his head. “I don’t belong here, Zane,” he said. “I may be a dragonblood, but my entire life I trained to kill dragonbloods. Even if I wanted to change, what point would it make?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“So you’re just gonna go back and let them kill us?” Zane asked, a slightly harsh tone to his voice.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Zane, I-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Kai, please,” Zane grabbed Kai’s hand, gently rubbing his thumb across the fire dragonblood’s fingers. “If you won’t do it for us, please. Stay here. For your own safety.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Zane, I’ll be safe, I-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“They’ll kill you…” Zane whispered. “They’ll kill you if they find out. If you don’t want to train with us, if you don’t want to be with us, that’s fine, but please don’t go back there…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Zane, why does it even matter?” Kai asked. “Why do you care?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Zane sighed. “I guess that’s my problem. I care too much…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Kai stared at the nindroid in silence. Zane looked down at the ground, avoiding eye contact.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“If this happened yesterday, or any other day before,” Zane continued, “I would have been more ok with you leaving, but now… Now I know for a fact that you’d be in danger. I don’t want to hear about you being killed.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Kai looked back, staring at the immense forest behind him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Please…” Zane whispered.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Kai turned back to Zane. The two of them stood still for a while until Kai wrapped his arms around Zane.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Ok…” Kai responded.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Ok?” Zane questioned. “Ok what?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“I’ll stay,” Kai clarified. “I’ll stay for you.”</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. City Meeting</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The dragonbloods decide to take a break from training to go visit the city</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  
  <span>Kai was walking towards his room. He opened the door and saw something sitting on his bed, folded up. Confused, he walked over to it and picked it up. He unfolded it, revealing it to be a new outfit that was very similar to the outfits Cole, Zane and Jay had. It was mainly red with an orange flame pattern on it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Oh nice! You got a new outfit!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Kai jumped as he heard Cole’s voice. He turned around angrily.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Cole! What are you doing here!?” he asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Well first of all I live here,” Cole replied, “and I was just walking by and noticed you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Kai turned around again, looking at his new clothes. “Why do I need a new outfit?” he asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Master Wu made these with special properties,” Cole explained. “We wear them because they won’t be destroyed if we turn into dragons.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“What if I just never turn into a dragon?” Kai challenged. “No reason to wear some magical new outfit.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“It doesn’t work like that,” Cole replied. “It’s not really something you can control, it just kinda happens under extreme stress.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Whatever,” Kai responded.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Also it might be good to wear something different,” Cole replied. “You haven’t washed your clothes since you’ve gotten here and it’s really starting to show.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Wha-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Cole patted Kai on the back. “I’ll give you some privacy to change,” he said with a smile.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Kai stood in disbelief as Cole left the room. After Cole closed the door, Kai let out a groan and started changing his outfit.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>______________________________________________</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Nya, Pixal and Cryptor were waiting in one of the small training rooms. They were told to wait there for Geo to come talk with them. Eventually, their director entered the room.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Good afternoon, students,” he greeted. “You have all shown massive improvements in your training, especially after…” he went quiet, failing to finish his sentence. “So, after talking with the other directors, we have decided to approve you for field work.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Wait, really?” Nya asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Took you guys long enough,” Cryptor retorted.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Eh-hem,” Geo interrupted. “Might I remind you that this doesn’t mean you are done training, nor that this gives you an excuse to run out and try to hunt down dragonbloods. You will still continue your training and you will only go after dragonbloods if you are assigned to.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Yes, Director Geo,” the three students agreed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Very well,” Geo nodded. “You have the rest of the day off. Might I suggest visiting the city square? Commander Lloyd is going to be addressing the public later about the recent reports.” Geo turned around and left the room.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Do you guys want to go to that?” Pixal asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“It would probably be a good idea,” Nya replied. “We can do field work now, so we should get any information we can get.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Nya, remember, we can’t hunt after dragonbloods without being assigned a mission,” Pixal reminded.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“I know,” Nya replied. “I wasn’t gonna do that!” Nya let out a quiet groan. “So, Cryptor, you coming, too?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“I’ll pass,” Cryptor replied. “I don’t like big crowds.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Oh, c’mon, Cryptor,” Nya persisted, “Mr. E might be there.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Cryptor’s eyes widened. “You really think he’d be there?” he asked, excitedly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Well Lloyd’s gonna be there, so I don’t see why not,” Nya replied.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Alright fine,” Cryptor agreed. “I’ll go with you guys, but only to see Mr. E in person.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“We’d better go get ready then,” Nya said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Cryptor nodded and left the room. Pixal gave Nya a confused look.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“The probability of Mr. E showing up is very low. Why did you tell Cryptor that?” she asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Just to trick him into coming,” Nya replied. “He hasn’t left the Academy in forever. He needs to get outside.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Pixal sighed. “Ok, but we should go get ready too.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Yeah,” Nya agreed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>______________________________________________</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Kai walked outside to meet up with the others. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Wow, looking good,” Cole complimented.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Zane and Jay both looked at Kai’s new outfit.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Zane smiled. “It looks very nice on you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Kai’s face turned red. “Y-yeah, whatever.” He walked up to sit next to them. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Now that everyone is here,” Master Wu said, “we can start training.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Do you guys seriously just train every single day?” Kai asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>The others looked at each other, confused. “Uh, yeah?” Jay replied. “Didn’t you do the same thing back at the Academy?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“I mean yeah, we trained a lot,” Kai explained, “but not everyday. We had break days where we’d go to the city and hang out.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“The city!?” Jay asked, suddenly excited. “You mean NINJAGO City!? Man, I’ve always wanted to go to Ninjago City!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Well then, why don’t we?” Kai asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>The others looked to Master Wu for a reply.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“I guess it has been a while since I’ve given you all a break from training…” Wu admitted. “But going to the city could be dangerous. If anyone from the Academy sees Kai, it could mean trouble.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“So we’ll just lay low, easy,” Kai assured.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Lay low? With THAT hairstyle?” Cole asked. “I think you might struggle with that.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Hey!” Kai yelled.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Cole has a point,” Wu agreed. “Going into the city as is could be too dangerous for you. Wait here.” Wu walked past his students and into the monastery. They waited for him to come back for a couple of minutes until he came back outside with a teapot and some teacups. He handed each of his students a cup and poured each of them some tea.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Uh, what kind of tea is this?” Jay asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“It is called Hidden Identi-tea,” Wu explained. “People will not be able to recognize you, they will only see you as dragonbloods. That is, if they find out that you’re dragonbloods.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Really?” Jay questioned. “Wow, convenient.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“You must be careful though,” Wu warned. “The spell can easily be broken if you reveal your true identity or if you find someone who already knows about your dragonblood heritage, which you shouldn’t have to worry about in the city.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“But we can still go to the city, right?” Kai asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Wu nodded. “As long as you drink your tea, I will allow you to go.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Great!” Kai cheered. “You guys are gonna love Ninjago City, it’s great!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“How about you drink your tea first and then you can tell us more,” Cole replied. He took a sip of his tea. “I mean, I’ve been to the city plenty of times so-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“YOU’VE BEEN TO NINJAGO CITY AND YOU NEVER TOLD US!” Jay cut him off, almost causing Cole to spill some of his tea.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Calm down, Jay,” Zane said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“How can I be calm when Cole kept this vital information from me!?” Jay asked. He turned back to Cole. “I thought you trusted me…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Stop being so dramatic,” Cole teased.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Jay slouched slightly and drank the rest of his tea along with the others.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Alright, you guys ready to go?” Kai asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>______________________________________________</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Nya, are you almost ready?” Pixal asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Yep, just gotta finish grabbing my things,” Nya replied. She grabbed a retractable sword and put it in her bag. Pixal looked down at it as Nya put it away before giving her a disappointed look.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“What?” Nya asked. “I’m just bringing it just in case.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“In case of what?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“I don’t know, just in case,” Nya replied. “Now c’mon, let’s get going!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Pixal rolled her eyes but followed Nya anyway.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>______________________________________________</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>The dragonbloods made their way to the city after changing into more casual clothes. It hadn’t taken them that long since they had a path leading towards the city in the forest. They had to be careful when leaving the forest so nobody would see them, but they managed to make it to the city unseen.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Wow, the city is SO COOL!” Jay rambled. “Like, I knew it was big, but I didn’t know it was THIS big!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Cole chuckled. “You having fun, Jay?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Yes!” Jay cheered. “The city is so cool!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Wow, you’re really excited about this,” Kai commented.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“I can see where Jay is coming from,” Zane said. “I’ve never been in a city like this before and it’s a lot to take in.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>The dragonbloods wandered around the city, looking for things to do when they noticed a large crowd of people.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“What’s going on over here?” Cole asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“No idea,” Kai replied. “We’d better go check it out.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>They walked over to the crowd to see what was going on. They noticed everyone was looking at a big stage in anticipation for… something. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“I don’t see Mr. E anywhere,” Cryptor said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“It hasn’t started yet,” Nya said. “He could still show up.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“He’d better,” Cryptor replied. “Or else I’m just wasting my time.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Whatever, Cryptor.” Nya started looking around and noticed someone else in the crowd. He had a red jacket and wild, brown hair. She gave him a confused look, although she didn’t know why.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Kai looked around until he noticed someone staring at him and froze. Zane noticed him and gave him a worried look.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Kai, is something wrong?” he asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“M-my sister, she,” Kai responded.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Zane looked over to see a black haired girl with a ponytail staring back at them.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Does she recognize you?” Zane asked in a whisper.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“I don’t know, I-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Citizens of Ninjago!” they were interrupted as someone on stage spoke. Kai gasped when he saw who was on stage.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“That’s Lloyd Garmadon!” Kai whispered.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Lloyd Garmadon?” Jay questioned.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“He’s Garmadon’s son and most skilled soldier,” Kai explained. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Garmadon?” Cole questioned. “As in, </span>
  <em>
    <span>the </span>
  </em>
  <span>Garmadon? The Garmadon who hunts down dragonbloods?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“No, the Garmadon who owns that fast food place OF COURSE IT’S THE GARMADON THAT HUNTS DRAGONBLOODS!” Kai replied.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“We should be leaving then,” Zane suggested. “If he finds us, we could be in danger.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Nya was watching Lloyd as he addressed the crowd, both Morro and Harumi standing with him. She saw movement out of the corner of her eye and saw the strange boy she saw earlier leaving with three other guys. She narrowed her eyes and started leaving the crowd as well.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Nya?” Pixal questioned. “Where are you going?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Don’t worry about it, Pix,” Nya assured.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Nya, don’t do anything rash,” Pixal replied.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“I’m not!” Nya objected. “I’ll be right back.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Morro was looking at the crowd as Lloyd talked about the current situation. Suddenly, he heard a quiet beeping noise coming from his tracker. He turned around and pulled out the tracker, reading the signals on it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Morro, what are you doing?” Harumi whispered, her voice harsh.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“I’m picking up dragonbloods in the area,” Morro explained.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Well we can’t do anything right now!” Harumi replied. “This is important to Lloyd and we can’t just cause a panic.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“I’ll take care of it,” Morro assured. “You just stay here and if Lloyd asks where I went, just make up an excuse.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Alright, fine,” Harumi agreed. “Just be quick.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“This was a bad idea,” Jay said. “Why did we ever come here?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Hey, usually there aren’t super dangerous dragon hunters wandering around,” Kai defended. “We just had bad timing that’s all.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“You four, stop!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>The four of them froze and turned around. One of the guys who was on stage stood behind them, a sword in his hand.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“M-Morro!” Kai said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“So, you know of me,” Morro replied. He started walking closer to the four of them. “So, I just have a few questions to ask you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Kai, who is this guy?” Jay asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“We need to split up,” Kai ordered.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“What?” Cole questioned.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Run!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>The four of them quickly split up, running in different directions.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Hey!” Morro yelled. “Ugh! Fine, we’re doing this the hard way!” Morro started running after the dragonbloods.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Kai ran down the street until he thought he was far enough from Morro. Just to be safe, he turned down an alleyway and leaned against the wall to catch his breath.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“This was… a terrible idea…” he said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“So, you ARE a dragonblood.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Kai froze as he heard a familiar voice. He turned to see Nya standing at the end of the alleyway.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“N-Nya!” Kai panicked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Nya blinked in surprise before glaring. “How do you know my name!?” she demanded.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“I, uh…” Kai tried to think of something.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“I knew there was a reason you stood out to me,” Nya said. She started walking closer to Kai, pulling out a retractable sword from her bag. “And then when I saw Morro going after you guys, it made perfect sense.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Nya, listen, you don’t wanna do this,” Kai tried reasoning with her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Shut up!” Nya yelled. “I know how you know me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“You do?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Kai told you,” she replied. “He told you before you KILLED HIM!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Before I- oh…” Kai said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“And now it’s time for YOU TO DIE!”</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Before anyone starts asking about future updates I'm just gonna say it's probably gonna be a while until I update this fic again. My motivation to work on pretty much anything right now is kinda dead and I need a break from writing. Sorry for leaving it off as a cliffhanger for now, but I just can't force myself to write right now. (In fact I kinda had to force myself to finish writing this chapter when I didn't really feel like working on it) I hope you guys understand, but I know I'm still gonna get people nagging at me to update because that's always what happens.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Siblings Separated</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Kai has to face off against his sister until he can regroup with the others</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Kai quickly jumped out of the way. Nya was one of the best students at the Academy and he knew that all too well.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t want to fight you!” Kai yelled as he continued dodging her attacks.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Nya made no response and instead continued swinging her sword towards the dragonblood. She had been training her entire life for a moment like this, and now she was ready to finally put everything she learned into action. She managed to get close enough to knock him off of his feet, knocking him onto the ground.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kai flinched as he landed, but luckily was able to roll out of the way as Nya sliced her sword towards him. As he continued dodging his sister’s attacks, he began to worry about the others. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>I’ve known how to handle Nya’s battle style my entire life, </span>
  </em>
  <span>he thought. </span>
  <em>
    <span>But the others… If Morro catches them…</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ugh!” Nya groaned. “Why aren’t you fighting back!?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Because I don’t want to fight you!” Kai repeated. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kai wished so badly that he could tell Nya it was him, but he knew that could end up putting her in danger. Kai managed to get himself in a position where he’d be able to escape. He had a clear path out of the alleyway, but before he could make a run for it, he heard some familiar voices.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Nya? Where did you go?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kai froze as he recognized Pixal’s voice. All he could do was watch as he saw Pixal and Cryptor turn the corner. They both stared at him and Nya with confused looks.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Nya, who’s this?” Cryptor asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He’s a dragonblood!” Nya shouted.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What!?” Pixal questioned.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cryptor grinned. “Alright, finally something interesting.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cryptor grabbed a retractable sword from his pocket and tossed it to Pixal before pulling out another one for himself.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Crap… </span>
  </em>
  <span>Kai looked around at all three of his former friends starting to close in on him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cryptor readied his sword and was about to strike Kai down when he was suddenly struck by a massive jolt of lightning.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“ACK!” Cryptor yelled, his voice glitching out slightly. The nindroid quickly fell over as his systems became overloaded.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Cryptor!” Pixal yelled. “AGH!” Pixal was quickly knocked out by a large rock that came seemingly out of nowhere.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kai looked down at the two nindroids before looking over to see the other dragonbloods, all looking ready to continue the fight.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“There’s more of you!?” Nya questioned.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Man am I happy to see you guys!” Kai cheered, running over to them.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey! Get back here!” Nya ordered, running after him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I apologize for this in advance,” Zane said, readying an ice attack. He shot it at the ground right in front of Nya, causing her to slip and fall over, just like her teammates.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That was a close one,” Jay said as Kai regrouped with them. “C’mon, let’s get out of here.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kai hesitated, looking back at the others. “I’m sorry, Nya,” he apologized before escaping with the other dragonbloods.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They all ran towards the forest before anyone could try to catch up with them.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“How did you guys get away from Morro?” Kai questioned.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well he couldn’t really run after all of us,” Cole replied. “Luckily I managed to find Jay before Morro could hurt him.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I still think I could’ve taken him,” Jay argued.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That seems very unlikely,” Zane commented. “Morro is a very skilled dragon hunter. He would have murdered you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He’s not just a skilled dragon hunter,” Kai said. “He’s one of Garmadon’s generals.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The dragonbloods began to slow down as they got closer to the forest. They made sure to look around carefully before entering the forest, not wanting anyone to follow them back to the monastery.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>______________________________________________</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Pixal, are you ok?” Nya asked, her voice full of worry.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I am fine,” Pixal assured, standing back up. “Nothing a few quick repairs can’t fix. Cryptor on the other hand…” She looked over at the other nindroid who was still unconscious on the ground.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That lightning dragonblood really did a number on him,” Nya said. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We just need to get him back to the Academy,” Pixal replied. “He will be fine.” Pixal looked at Nya. “I wish you would have told us where you were going before running off.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m sorry, Pix,” Nya apologized. “But something about that dragonblood felt… off. I had to follow him.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Did you figure out what was ‘off’ about him?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Nya paused for a moment. “He’s the one who killed Kai…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Pixal blinked. “How can you be sure?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I just know it,” Nya replied. “He knew my name. How else would he have known my name?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Pixal tried to think of different possibilities, but nothing came up. She let out a sigh. “We need to report this to the Academy and get Cryptor back as soon as possible.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Nya nodded and the two of them carefully picked up Cryptor off of the ground.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They finally got back to the Academy and put Cryptor in his bed to recharge. Pixal and Nya went to their own room so Pixal could start working on her minor repairs. There was a knock on their door, so Nya got up to answer it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hello, Nya,” Borg greeted. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, Cyrus Borg, come in,” Nya invited. She opened the door wider so that he would be able to easily roll his wheelchair through.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hello, father,” Pixal greeted from the other side of the room.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Pixal, are you ok?” Borg asked. “I heard you ran into some trouble in the city and I was worried about-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m fine,” Pixal assured. “An earth dragonblood attacked me, but he didn’t do too much much damage.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“An earth dragonblood!?” Borg questioned.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“She didn’t get it nearly as bad as Cryptor did,” Nya said. “That lightning dragonblood caused him to completely overload himself!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“A lightning one too?” Borg questioned. “How many did you fight off?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Four of them to be exact,” Pixal responded. “Although I would use the term ‘fight off’ very loosely. They got the upperhand on us, sadly.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“If that stupid ice one didn’t trip me up…” Nya shook her head. “We didn’t get to figure out what element that fourth one had.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Have you reported this to any of the directors yet?” Borg asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Not yet,” Nya replied. “We needed to focus on getting Cryptor back safely and then I wanted to make sure Pixal was gonna be ok.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You don’t need to worry about it,” Borg assured. “I will take care of it for you. You just rest for now.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Thank you,” Nya replied. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The room went quiet as Borg left. The door closed behind him and Nya turned to Pixal again.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m thinking about doing extra training in a little bit,” she said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Pixal paused and turned around towards Nya. “Nya, you shouldn’t be worrying about training right now.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s the only thing I should be worrying about!” Nya argued. “We have confirmation that there’s four dragonbloods out there. I’m not just gonna sit around knowing those beasts are out there being a danger to humanity!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“They have soldiers for that, Nya,” Pixal replied. “We may have reached a point where we can hunt them, but we’re still nowhere near ready to fight off four dragonbloods.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Nya crossed her arms and looked away. “I still don’t understand why that dragonblood wouldn’t fight me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I think it seems like a smart strategy,” Pixal replied.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“How?” Nya questioned with a defensive tone.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We now know the elements of three of those dragonbloods,” Pixal explained. “But since that one didn’t fight back, we don’t know what his element is. He also could have been trying to make you let your guard down so he would be able to attack you easier.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I never let my guard down,” Nya replied.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He doesn’t know that,” Pixal reminded. “Remember that it is important to study your enemy, but your enemy will always be studying you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re starting to sound like all of the teachers,” Nya joked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Pixal let out a soft laugh. “There’s a reason you had to take starting class while Cryptor and I didn’t.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, yeah.” Nya laughed for a bit before going quiet. She let out a sigh as she started to remember the times when she was younger. She squeezed her arm slightly as she remembered training with her brother, and realized that she can no longer do that.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Pixal took notice of Nya’s sudden change in behavior. She walked over to sit next to her, wrapping her arms around her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I miss him too…” she assured.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>______________________________________________</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I think one thing is clear,” Kai said, pacing back and forth.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What’s that?” Cole asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We need to train more,” Kai replied. “We need to be better prepared for when dragon hunters try to attack us.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Are you seriously telling </span>
  <em>
    <span>us </span>
  </em>
  <span>that we need to get better at fighting?” Jay questioned. “You’re the one who didn’t lay a hit on any of those Academy students.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“C’mon, Jay, those were his friends,” Cole reminded.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Perhaps Kai was trying to get them to let their guard down before attacking,” Zane suggested.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kai let out a quick laugh. “No, trust me, I know Nya and she NEVER lets her guard down.” Kai turned around. “Now I admit that I was weak in that fight and I could have done something to help.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Kai, don’t stress yourself out about it, they were your friends,” Cole said. “And Nya’s your sister, we’re not gonna make you fight-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well they’re my enemies now, so whether or not I like it, I have to fight them!” Kai snapped, unexpectedly. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Kai-” Zane tried to speak.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I may not know how any of Garmadon’s soldiers fight,” Kai continued, “but I know perfectly well how Nya, Pixal and Cryptor fight.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Kai, you don’t have to do any of this,” Zane interrupted.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes I do!” Kai argued. “I’m a dragonblood now, so this is what I have to do!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“But Master Wu believes in-” Jay spoke up.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I have to do this!” Kai shouted.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Everyone went quiet. Kai took some deep breaths to try and cool off.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“If I don’t step up, they’re gonna hurt you guys.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kai looked down at the ground. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I need a moment, hold on,” Kai said. He started to leave and the others watched, wondering if they should follow or not. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Zane, you wanna go talk to him?” Cole asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“But what if he wants to be alone right now?” Zane questioned.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I think he needs someone,” Jay replied. “He just had to deal with some pretty intense stuff today.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Zane thought for a moment before standing up and following Kai. He quickly realized that Kai went to his room. He slowly opened the fire dragonblood’s door and saw him sitting on the bed, his face in his hands.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Kai, I’m worried about you,” Zane said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kai made minimal effort to look up at Zane before burying his face in his hands again. Zane walked over to sit next to Kai.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“My own sister wanted me dead…” Kai whispered. “She wanted to kill me, Zane. The look in her eyes.. I’ve never seen her look at someone with so much hatred before in my life. And she was looking at </span>
  <em>
    <span>me</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I… can’t imagine what that would be like,” Zane said. Zane was quiet for a while, waiting to see if Kai was going to say anything in response, but he remained quiet. “Kai, I know you want to protect us,” Zane finally continued, “but please don’t force yourself to train us on how to fight your friends.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“But I don’t want them hurting any of you,” Kai replied.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And we don’t want to hurt you,” Zane responded. “We did what we had to in order to keep you safe.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kai let out a sigh. “I just wish I could tell Nya the truth.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Why don’t you?” Zane replied. “I’m sure she would understand.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m sure she would too,” Kai agreed. “But if the Academy found out that she knew I was a dragonblood and was keeping it a secret, there’s no telling what they’d do to her.” Kai went quiet for a moment. “And… there’s part of me that worries that even if she knew it was me, that it wouldn’t change anything…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“She would not do that,” Zane assured.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You don’t even know her!” Kai snapped, causing Zane to jump slightly. “She’s been trained to hunt down dragonbloods her whole life!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well… so were you,” Zane reminded. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s different!” Kai argued. Kai let out a sigh. “It’s… different.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Zane glanced out the window and saw that the sun was beginning to set. He stood up.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We’ve had a long day,” he said. “I think we all need some rest.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah…” Kai agreed. “I know I definitely need a rest after all of this…”</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
</body>
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